The Wolf of Change
by Romula1
Summary: Prequel to 'The Auror.' Remus Lupin's story, from bite to the end of his 7th school year. Please r+r, it's not essential to have read The Auror but it helps.
1. The Accident

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 1 - The Accident  
  
A purple haze lay across the lands surrounding Hogsmeade. Warm glows came from the windows of cosy little homes, and a summer breeze rustled the trees of the Forbidden Forest gently.  
On a patio outside a particularly inviting house, Roland Lupin was deeply absorbed in the letter he had received earlier that evening. It concerned the rising evil in the country, and he read and reread it with growing concern.  
His son, however, was innocent and free of such concerns, weaving throughout the trees at the bottom of the garden on his small broomstick, only a couple of feet off the ground. Remus loved Quidditch, and he was obsessed with the idea of being on the national team. "Daddy! Daddy? Can you release the Snitch? I'll never get on the team without practice!"  
Roland laughed absently at the practicality his four-year-old already showed, and reached down to unlock the trunk beside his deck chair. "I doubt that even Fielding Snipes would find the Snitch in this light!"  
The golden ball shot from the trunk as an equally amazing silver ball rose above the horizon. The full moon shone down on the land, illuminating the young boy as he raced in circles after the little orb. The Snitch eventually veered off, heading into the trees. After a swift glance to check that his father wasn't watching, Remus directed his broom after it, revelling in the adrenaline rush as he wove between the dark shapes around him.  
A clearing ahead awash with moonlight revealed the Snitch hovering in the white glow. Remus grinned, going in for the kill, when as his small fingers closed around the cold metal he heard an odd noise.  
"Daddy?"  
The noise came again, apparently nearer. Remus looked wildly about him, panicking when he realised that he did not know which way he had come. He shivered in the now chill wind and began to sob quietly, not knowing what to do.  
The pitiful sound of the small child crying attracted the attention of the forest-dwelling creatures. Bright glints began to ring the clearing where the boy wept into his hands, unaware.  
Roland may not have heard his son's questioning "Daddy?" but he did hear the piercing shriek that radiated from the forest. He looked up sharply, flint-grey eyes scanning the long, clear lawn for any sign of his son. A chilling howl split the air and he leapt from the deck chair, parchment floating to the ground now forgotten, and wineglass chipped, the red liquid pouring out over the paving stones.  
"Remus?" He shouted. All that answered were those haunting cries that now seemed to come from behind every tree. Roland half-turned back to his new house, and saw his wife's silhouette in the light from the kitchen window. "Miranda?" being summer, the window was open, and she leaned out of it, looking relaxed and interested until she saw his worry. "Miranda, I - Remus has gone, he's vanished. He was just playing in the garden here, on his broomstick, and I was reading my letters. And he's gone!"  
Miranda Lupin's face changed, and the lines that the city had imposed on it were all of a sudden apparent once more. "What? How could this happen? Roland why weren't you watching? And why can I hear wolves? Britain was supposed to be clear of wolves for a long time now."  
Roland's hopes faded with that statement. "Oh no...Miranda, it's a full moon. Could - could it be that these woods, that have been quiet for the past month, are full of lycanthropes?"  
Before he knew it, Roland felt her brush past him; her wand brandished in one hand, and a silver necklace in the other.  
"Miranda! What on earth are you doing?" He grabbed her arm.  
"I'm going to find my son!"  
"Don't be stupid! You can't do anything for him with a silver chain and a stick!" She opened her mouth to protest, but he silenced her with a soft gesture. "There are a lot of them out there. Now, all we can do is wait patiently until morning, lock the house securely, contact the local healer, and begin a search during daylight tomorrow. It will not do Remus any good if we go charging out there and get ourselves bitten." Roland's controlled and balanced words calmed Miranda slightly, and she sighed deeply and bent down to pick up his broken glass and letter before hurrying back inside.  
  
* * *  
  
The sun rose early, blissful summer in the air with a gentle breeze caressing the treetops. Deeper under the boughs where only speckles of the warm rays reached, the day to day inhabitants of the Forest began to emerge from hiding. As usual after the Full Moon, the floor was a sea of carnage and debris. Animals not so fortunate in keeping invisible were strewn in bloodstained patches of grass, low branches were often torn off the trees, and the claw marks of some immense group of creatures littered the disturbed earth and shredded bark.  
The air was still on the forest-floor, humidity already setting in. Flies buzzed around the corpses of everything from squirrels to foxes, and all in all the scene was much like that of a battlefield abandoned. The torn and bruised form of a little boy could easily have been mistaken for that of a dead fox; and had his parents not been the ones searching for him it might have been.  
Miranda gave a sobbing cry when she saw her son curled up at the foot of a mauled tree. Roland stared with suspicion and his wand at the ready, scanning the boughs above them.  
With trembling and tentative hands Roland reached down and gently turned Remus on his back. He gave a gasp and drew back. Miranda held his shoulders and peered around him, letting out a muffled wail. The wizard traced his fingers along his son's right collarbone, outlining the gash in his pale skin and trying in vain to wipe some of the blood away from the clear bite-mark.  
Remus's young face was contorted into an expression of pain, and drying blood surrounded his mouth. His fingers were also caked in red and brown, and splinters of bark adorned his hands and arms. His shirt and shorts were torn and muddied and his feet were bare and soled with earth. Roland and Miranda's tears left clear trails along his dusted skin as Roland carefully hoisted Remus into his arms and carried him out of the Forest.  
In a clearing not too far away, had they looked in it, the boy's parents would have found a chewed and mangled Snitch, and the splinters of a broomstick hardly noticeable among the broken branches that littered the dew-frosted ground.  
  
* * *  
  
The healer Magda Nimif eyed the Lupins with distaste as she stepped out of the fireplace. Remus was huddled on his mother's knees, thumb in mouth. He hadn't spoken at all since they had found him. Roland paced behind Miranda's chair, and Miranda absent-mindedly stroked her son's hair and stared into nowhere.  
"Ah you're here at last." Roland's abrupt statement didn't impress the healer, who had heard about this family of outsiders already and thought little of their ignorant attitudes.  
"Yes, I'm here. Hello, you must be Mr. Roland Lupin?"  
"Hello. Yes, I'm Roland, this is Miranda, and this..." he sighed deeply, "is Remus."  
"My name is Ms. Nimif. I'd just like to ask you something before we start. What on earth possessed you to buy this house?"  
Miranda seemed to drag her gaze from the point on the wall she had been staring through. "We-we thought it would be a nice place for Remus to grow up, a-away from the hustle and bustle we had in Manchester. It's also less conspicuous to have a fire here, and it's easier for Roland's work. We had no idea that this forest is...haunted..."  
Magda pinned the younger woman with her glare. "You moved in literally the day after the full moon of June, you didn't notice the destruction? You didn't think to ask? This Forest reaches all the way to the outskirts of the Hogwarts Wizarding School grounds. It is not known as the Forbidden Forest for nothing! Almost every wood in Britain used to be populated by werewolves-" Remus flinched convulsively and dug his fingers into Miranda where he clung. "-But now it is only those here in the North that contain groups of lycanthropes. I cannot believe any respecting witch or wizard would not know that, and a Ministry wizard of all things!""  
Roland and Miranda looked guiltily at one another and then at Magda. Roland shook his head sadly. "I work in the Department for Wand Safety. I have never encountered anything in my job to help me find the areas of the UK inhabited by w-wolves...but we should have checked. You're right. It did seem too good to be true."  
The old woman nodded brusquely and moved towards Miranda and Remus, placing her bag on the table. "Right then, boy, let's have a look at you." She turned her attention to Roland for a moment. "I trust you performed the spell I told you to?"  
"Y-yes. It stopped the bleeding but nothing else."  
"That was all it was meant to do." Magda snapped, as with Miranda's help she pried Remus away from his mother and set him on the table edge. He was now in a clean pair of shorts and a vest, hugging his grazed and bruised arms about him. When she spoke to him Magda's voice softened. "Okay, sweetie, I'm not going to hurt you, I just want have a look at your shoulder."  
Baleful grey eyes studied her with caution, and she waited a few moments before he nodded slowly. Experienced and gnarled fingers shifted the strip of material from his shoulder and gently explored the wound. Remus whimpered and looked to his mother for support. To his relief she smiled warmly and nodded at him.  
Magda took a small vial from her bag and poured it straight into the gash. Remus jumped and gaped in horror at the healer. She said that she wouldn't hurt him! Magda regarded the boy with wonder, however. "Goodness, you're very brave. That's the least reaction I've had from anyone who I have treated with this potion."  
Remus wasn't terribly mollified though, and scowled at his stinging shoulder. The healer now took her wand out and muttered something. Right before the astonished child's eyes the injury closed, the red slashes vanishing to nothing more than scars.  
Roland, who had been watching from behind Remus now frowned. "Will he have those scars for life?"  
"Yes, I'm afraid that is the way with cursed bites." Magda was now closing her bag and moving towards the fireplace.  
"We understand, thank you. Er...what do we owe you for this, Ms. Nimif?" Miranda rose to shake hands.  
Magda raised a thinning eyebrow. "Legally you aren't required to pay for the treatment of a person bitten against their will." She shook hands briefly then reached for her Floo powder.  
"Wait, please." Miranda fumbled with her purse. "Take this." She handed the healer four golden Galleons.  
"Miranda--" Roland protested, but she had already turned back to Remus.  
Magda nodded gratefully to Roland, then left.  
  
* * *  
  
"Okay, Remus, honey. Now it's definitely bedtime." It was ten o'clock and Remus was sitting in front of the living room fire, struggling not to fall asleep. Miranda had tried before to take him upstairs, but a terrified glint had come into his eyes each time she attempted it.  
He still refused to speak, and only when she reached to pick him up did his wail of protest assail her again. "Remus, you have to go to bed now, it's late! Come on, you're falling asleep right here."  
With him struggling in her arms, Miranda battled up the dark stairs and along the landing to her son's bedroom. The walls were covered in wizard posters of broomsticks and Quidditch teams, all shining and happy. The England seeker waved at her as she switched the light on. Remus peered over her shoulder at the posters and froze.  
Miranda gasped in shock as he dug his fingers into her, sobbing in terror. "Whoa, whoa! Remus, what's wrong? Please tell me!" She sat him on the edge of his bed and searched his young face pleadingly.  
He still didn't speak, but he pointed to a poster of his old broomstick and his sobs doubled.  
Miranda smiled to herself. "Your broomstick? You miss it? I promise we'll get you a new one."  
But this only seemed to make it worse. She flinched at his screams and reached out to hold his arms. "Remus! Remus, you have to tell me what it is that you want! What's wrong? I can't help if I don't know!"  
Remus freed himself from her grasp and ran across the room to the poster. He ripped it off the wall and crumpled it up before turning to her and racing back to cling once more. As he sniffled into her robes, Miranda thought carefully about what her son had just done. Roland opened the door carefully. "Is everything okay here?"  
She sighed. "Take down the posters, would you, Roland? I think they remind him of what happened. He was on his broomstick, wasn't he?"  
"Oh God..." Roland rubbed his temples and began to gently remove the other posters. "What a mess..."  
Eventually Miranda and Roland managed to detach Remus from them enough to leave the room, promising that they were only going to be in the next one along. Remus sat trembling on his bed, all his lights on, staring at the blank walls and trying not to sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Roland awoke with a start, screams were echoing around the house. "Miranda?" He queried, sitting up. She had only just been woken too it seemed, and she exclaimed in horror, "Remus!" before padding quickly out of the room.  
Roland followed closely, charging into his son's room to find Miranda attempting to wake him from some awful nightmare. Remus tossed and turned, his bedclothes tangling around him as he flailed and struggled. He called out occasionally, his voice thin and full of fear. Roland reached for his wand. "Would a waking spell work?"  
Miranda shook her head. "None that I know of are strong enough - I tried. I suppose it just has to pass."  
  
* * *  
  
It kept happening, played over again and again until he could remember every agonising second with perfect clarity. He fell backwards off his broom, the creature's fangs reached for his flesh and there was nothing he could do. The teeth dug deep, breaking his collarbone with the ease of a strong man snapping a dry twig. The pain radiated out from his shoulder, sending a message of torment to his brain. But it was fast becoming someone else's.  
As though watching from a distance, Remus could practically see the alien force take over his mind, shoving his true self aside and replacing it with animal desires and instincts. The more he fought, the more it hurt, and he felt in danger of blacking out. He had been on the brink of blissful peace when a sharp and different jolt caused him to cringe. He raised his left arm and stared in horror at the coarse black hairs that had appeared.  
It now felt as though his entire skin had been set alight, and his shoulder and hip sockets ached as though he was being stretched out of proportions. His throat grated too, and a scream filled the air. His face began to itch and he saw his own features elongate into those of a wolf. 


	2. Coping

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 2 - coping  
  
It was a month since Roland had tiredly torn down Remus' Quidditch posters and he and Miranda had begun to think about new houses. The full moon of August was rapidly approaching, and Miranda and Roland constantly checked the shed they had erected in the huge lawn they now had at their new cottage.  
Up on the Scottish moors and isolated from every angle except the Floo network, the little stone building and rickety-looking hut seemed bizarre in the sea of heather. Remus gazed out of his bedroom window morosely at the shack. His parents had explained as best they could the effects of being a lupine in the world, but the lonely new existence he suffered already was driving the four-year-old further and further into himself.  
His walls were now bare, and he couldn't look at a broomstick without remembering all too clearly that night. The moon was no longer a thing of wonder and beauty and fairy-tale stories; he looked upon it now with fear and loathing.  
Miranda and Roland worried continually, the price of the potion needed for Remus to sleep peacefully taking a toll on their finances, and the price of their son's new found melancholy taking a toll on their emotions.  
  
* * *  
  
"Remus, are you ready?" the question was asked tentatively, and Miranda cursed herself for not asserting herself more around her son anymore.  
He was crying quietly as she picked him up and carried him to the bottom of the garden in the fading light. "Okay, little one." She opened the door to the shed and attempted to release Remus at the same time. Roland was walking down the path behind her, and he joined her as she endeavoured to release herself from Remus' locked fingers.  
She remembered the first time they'd tried to get Remus in the shed, as a practice. He had fought for ages and screamed in terror so much that they had given up that time.  
"Remus, we've been through this so often, you know we'll be right out here in the morning, and you know that it's so much safer for everyone this way..." Her voice faltered, and she felt herself begin to cry. She wrapped her arms around Remus as tightly as he held onto her, and Roland rubbed her back gently, his own eyes beginning to prickle.  
Finally Miranda released her son and firmly turned him away from her and into the shed. "I'm so sorry, Remus, I'm so sorry, but you know there isn't any other way!"  
Roland performed the locking and silencing spells whilst Miranda cried heavily into her handkerchief. His expression had been so terrified, so unhappy, so despairing. She cried for the innocent child of hers that had been compelled to grow up so quickly.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning at the instant the moon fell away behind the horizon, Roland and Miranda raced down the garden path. Roland shouted the reversing spells so quickly that they were garbled and he had to repeat them, and Miranda pounced on the door handle as soon as the last one had been undone.  
The inside of the shed was in complete disorder for a room that had been bare the night before. Splinters and chunks of wood were strewn everywhere; many of them smattered with drying blood.  
Remus charged out to them the instant that the sunlight entered the darkness. His eyes were wide and wild despite the dark circles under them. His hands were badly grazed and full of splinters, and several of his nails had snapped. His gums and lips were cut and he had a large graze on his knee. It was obvious, though, how the wolf had spent its time. The mattresses that had been thoughtfully arranged in a corner were now shredded and gutted, foam and springs littering the floor of the shed.  
The boy was terrified. He clung to his parents; feeling their relief, and letting his own flood out of him.  
  
* * *  
  
Remus blew out the candles on his eleventh birthday cake, some of them sliding dangerously on the sides of the tiny gift. Roland watched sadly, wishing he could have afforded better, but wishing more that Miranda was there to see the joy on her son's face when he opened his only present.  
She had died nearly two years ago now, the stress and worry consuming her energy until she could go on no longer. Remus and Roland had been devastated. For weeks Remus had gone back to being quiet and moody, becoming for a time as silent as he had been after the attack.  
Roland had taken to bringing his son to work at the Ministry with him, letting him help file things and introducing him to the politics and rules of the Wizarding world. Remus had become overly mature for his age, learning about prejudice, and learning of the loathing with which people would treat him if they knew his secret.  
He had been overjoyed though when he had opened the single envelope that lay next to his cake. Roland was as excited as Remus, knowing exactly what the envelope was, and desperately curious to see how his son could have received it. It was a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but not the invitation for a placement there that Roland had been expecting and hoping for:  
  
Dear Master Lupin,  
  
I understand that you have been the unfortunate victim of a terrible curse, and that consequently you feel that you will not gain a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Well if that is the case, then I would like to offer at least a glimmer of hope to you.  
I am very new as Headmasters of this school go, and I would like to be able to keep this school as diverse as possible. I do not believe that you or any others of your kind should be excluded from an education, and I would very dearly love to meet with you and your father sometime before the beginning of this academic year, to hopefully sort out an arrangement that would allow you to join us here.  
  
Yours faithfully,  
  
Professor Albus Dumbledore, Order of Merlin First Class, Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump.  
  
Remus gaped at the letter then at his father. "No way! Dad...did you know about this?"  
Roland shook his head as he studied the letter. Of course Dumbledore couldn't just let him in like that. Arrangements had to be made.  
"Dad? Dad, we can go and meet him, can't we? Please, Dad!" Remus was holding his father's arm, his eyes shining with more excitement than Roland had seen in him for at least five years. His son's suddenly smiling and hopeful face almost brought tears to Roland's eyes, and he embraced Remus. "Yes, Remus, we'll go! I'll send a reply today!"  
  
* * *  
  
Remus stared wide-eyed with awe at the old man who stepped out of the fireplace. Although he bent over to enter the room, the young boy saw that this man did not stoop as a habit. His back was proud and straight, his flowing beard and hair pristine and white despite a travel through the sooty Floo Network. His eyes were kind and young behind the half-moon glasses, twinkling like a pair of blue stars. Remus felt relaxed in his presence.  
"Ah, hello. Young Master Lupin, I expect?" His voice was soft and slightly raspy, but not harsh - soothing.  
Remus hesitated still and glanced up at his father. Roland gave his shoulder a quick squeeze and flashed a reassuring smile, encouraging his son. Turning back to Dumbledore, Remus put on his best mature and 'dealing with adults' face. "Yes, sir. I'm Remus Lupin. And this is my father."  
Dumbledore's eyes sparkled as he shook the boy's hand and he turned to his father with amusement in his smile. "Hello, Roland."  
"Hello, Headmaster, do follow me. Would you like a drink, maybe? There's not much, I'm afraid."  
"Ah, well whatever there is will suffice, Roland, thank you." Dumbledore took the proffered chair in the light kitchen, and waited as Remus slid into the chair opposite. "Now, Remus. You're very mature for your age, I don't doubt, and you understand why certain arrangements will have to be made if you are to attend Hogwarts?"  
Remus nodded gravely over the beaker of pumpkin juice his father had placed in front of him. Dumbledore smiled in slight surprise at the distraction for a moment. "Goodness, Roland. A little early for this, isn't it?"  
"Well, if it tastes good, why just have it on Halloween?"  
Dumbledore laughed, "Yes, yes, good enough reason.  
"Remus, there's something I must ask you before we continue too much, do you mind?"  
Remus shook his head, holding his peace for the moment.  
"Do you actually want to come to school?"  
Shocked, Remus forgot himself for a moment. "Yes! Of course!"  
The old wizard smiled kindly. "Good, good. You don't mind coming to school?"  
Now puzzled, the boy shook his head. "No."  
"Do you understand what I'm getting at, Remus? Your friends will wonder where you go every month, and it will be up to you what to say to them. We obviously don't want you telling the whole school, as that would cause upset with the parents, but if you feel the need to tell a few, that is fine."  
Remus stared; this was a sensitive subject with him. "Haven't got any." He mumbled. Dumbledore exchanged glances with Roland, who was looking older and more tired than he had. "Excuse me, Remus?"  
"I haven't got any friends." He repeated. "Even if I did I wouldn't tell them. They wouldn't be my friends anymore if I did."  
"Well I can understand how you feel out here, but you'll find it different at school. People can be more understanding than you'd think. Sometimes they just need a bit longer."  
The boy nodded reluctantly, not really believing the old man.  
"Well we have considered what we could do for you, if you're to come, though. But you must decide soon, as it needs careful setting up. We shall plant a Whomping Willow on the grounds, and under it, a tunnel will lead to an old house on the outskirts of Hogsmeade - that we will charm and board up so that it is suitable - where you'll go every Moon. Madam Pomfrey will see to it that you're properly taken care of, and get enough rest."  
Remus contemplated this suggestion for a moment, his hope beginning to rise once more. Again he glanced to Roland for a response.  
Roland, however, had his doubts. "I don't know, Headmaster. A Whomping Willow?"  
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. It will be perfect. Only Remus and members of staff will know its sedation point, and others, therefore, will not be able to get to the tunnel. As for the danger to other students, well, we hope that a certain degree of sensibility will be observed around it, as around the Forest."  
Remus tore his pleading stare away from his father, and fixed a worried one on Dumbledore. "Forest? The Forbidden Forest?"  
The wizard seemed to know the source of the boy's worry. "Don't worry, Remus, there is a safe-area around the castle, and nothing will touch you if you don't venture into those woods too far."  
Mollified by the calm and confident tone of the headmaster, Remus settled again. His father appeared to have nearly made up his mind. "One, more thing, Headmaster. I don't know if we can afford the equipment."  
Once more, this had been thought of. "Of course. Help will be provided for that where necessary in the form of a grant. How much, we can discuss at a later date, but for now I should like to know whether we should be looking out for Whomping Willows?"  
Roland sighed, and looked at his son's anxious face. "Yes, I think we'll pull this one off, don't you, Rem'?"  
Remus shouted with joy, and leapt from his chair, racing around the table to embrace his father. "Thank you!"  
Dumbledore relaxed, feeling Roland had done the boy a great justice by accepting the place. They would cope. 


	3. Preparation

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 3 - Preparation  
  
Roland went through the list once more with Remus before quickly patting his son's shoulder and racing off, briefcase in hand, through the busy streets of London to his job at the Ministry of Magic.  
Remus slipped through the crowds just as expertly, blending in with the unsuspecting Muggles. None noticed him vanish from their world as he entered The Leaky Cauldron. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he looked over at the barman, Tom, who smiled in recognition.  
"Ah, young Lupin! Glad to see you here! You'll be wanting in the Alley, I suppose?"  
"Yes, please, sir." Remus grinned. Stepping through the widening hole in the wall, the boy bid thank you and good day to Tom, and relaxed into the warm, friendly atmosphere of Diagon Alley. Everywhere he looked there seemed to be young witches and wizards exploring the street, and trying to convince parents of the need for certain objects not on the school list.  
Remus first went to pick up his set of pre-ordered robes from Madam Malkin's, then headed towards Flourish and Blotts for his books. As he roved the huge bookcases for the textbooks on his list, he glanced warily at a pair of girls about his age giggling over a book entitled Bewitchingly Beautiful Love Spells by I. M. Eures.  
Collecting the necessary items, he made his escape and entered the dark library of wands, Mr. Ollivander's. A pair of penetrating milky blue eyes peered at him out of the gloom. "Ahhhh...Remus Lupin...you shall be an interesting one..." After setting his enchanted tape measure on Remus, Ollivander moved between shelves with the speed and efficiency of one long used to everything being in its correct place, and brought several boxes to his desk, opening one and holding it out. "Teak, unicorn tail, 15 inches."  
Remus took the proffered wand and 'swished and flicked' as he had been taught. Ollivander's glasses flew off his nose.  
Suppressing a giggle, the boy quickly put the wand down as the wand- maker bent to reach his glasses, muttering, "No, no, no...I think not.  
"Mahogany, dragon heart string, 14 and a half inches."  
Again, Remus gestured with the wand, but this time the lamp on the desk merely trembled.  
"Mmm, mmm, closer...maybe...maybe phoenix feather this time...and a little shorter...  
"Mahogany, phoenix feather, 13 inches."  
Gingerly taking hold of the wand, Remus felt its power as soon as his scarred fingers wrapped around it. The tip began to glow with an inner light, and gold and orange sparks danced around it. "Wow!"  
"Ah, perfect." Ollivander seemed relieved. "Now then, that will only be 4 galleons Master Lupin."  
Feeling guilty and a little embarrassed at paying so little when others had to pay full price, Remus handed over the money and thanked Ollivander, before moving back into the brightness of Diagon Alley. Thinking to just have a quick glance around the Magical Menagerie, Remus squinted into the dank display tanks in the window. He was only distracted from the rats' antics when a loud, croaky voice announced just behind him, "Who's been through a hedge backwards, then?" followed by the same, slightly embarrassed giggle that he'd heard in Flourish.  
The two girls were there, one with a grey parrot perched on her right shoulder. In between laughs, she admonished, "Shh! Henry, that's not nice! I'm terribly sorry. He's rather...free-minded." The girl looked apologetic, at least.  
Her friend added, "And free-tongued!"  
Remus smiled shyly a little intimidated by their boldness. "Oh, no it's okay. It's certainly different from your average parrot line."  
Relieved, the first girl grinned broadly, her blue eyes shining. "Yes, he's not average at all. Are you starting at Hogwarts this year?"  
"Yes." Remus was glad of the simple question.  
"Oh good! We are too, we thought we were the only first years in Diagon Alley today. I'm Sephine Winters and this is Lily Evans. What's your name?"  
Again, the answer was easy, "Remus Lupin."  
"Nice. We were just heading to get some ice cream, you want to join us?"  
Remus glanced at his watch. "Sure, why not."  
They squirmed through the crowds, until as they passed the Quidditch supplies shop, Sephine leapt to the window, nose against the glass. "Whoa! Take a look at that! The Cumulus 5000! God, what I wouldn't give for one of those!"  
Remus looked at the broom and felt his stomach lurch. He felt sick just thinking of it. He held his stomach and looked away, not paying heed to Lily's complaints about how boring Quidditch sounded.  
"...And honestly, from what Seph says, it sounds so confusing! I don't...Remus? Are you all right? You look a bit pale..."  
He nodded briskly and swallowed. "Mm. Fine. Must just have caught a whiff from Knockturn."  
That started Lily off again, as Sephine practically drooled on the windowpane. "Ooh! Sephine's told me all about there! Have you ever been? She says she hasn't, but she seems to know an awful lot about it. Have you ever been there, Remus?"  
Frowning, thinking her enthusiasm unnatural for any witch used to Diagon Alley, he changed the subject. "Is this your first trip to Diagon Alley?"  
"Gosh, yes!" Lily looked surprised for a moment, then apologetic. "Oh, I didn't tell you, both my parents are Muggles! I've been friends with Seph for ages, though, and when she found out I got a place, she practically spent the whole summer holidays explaining everything to me. It's awesome, don't you think?"  
Remus had to laugh at this girl who was so relaxed around people she didn't know at all. "Yes, I suppose it is. I can't remember the first time I was here, though. I've been so often with my dad that it's all become a bit normal to me."  
"Oh, I think that's sad. I want this feeling of awe to be here every time I enter Diagon Alley. So are both your parents...magical?"  
Remus hesitated, then nodded. "Yes," and before Lily could question him further, he added, "Are we going to get any ice cream, then?" with what he hoped was a friendly smile.  
"Ooh, yes! Seph! Can you marry the broomstick some other day? We want ice cream!"  
Sephine turned round, a mischievous grin on her face, "Alright, if you're that desperate." The thinning crowds were getting easier to move through as lunchtime approached and witches and wizards alike headed to cafés and restaurants dotted around the Wizarding Community Alley System. The ice cream parlour was jam-packed by the time the three got there. Most tables were completely occupied, but just as Sephine and Lily turned away from the sea of people in disappointment, Remus' sharp eyes picked up a table occupied by only one person. A boy, probably ten or eleven years old, with his feet up on the table, and his shopping bags taking up the rest of the table space. His eyes were closed in bliss as he sucked on a straw coming from his ice cream soda, and black curly bangs fell in disarray over his forehead.  
Remus turned to the girls. "Hey, look, there's a space, you see?"  
Lily peered, hand shielding eyes from the midday sun, but shook her head. "I don't see anything, Remus, are you sure?"  
"Yes, there, look."  
Sephine squinted at the crowds. "Oh, I see. The one lounging in the sun?"  
"Yes, there are three spaces not used at his table."  
Lily sighed. "Seph, is this another of those thingys? Those that only wizard-born can do? Cause how come you guys could see him, but I couldn't?"  
Sephine frowned, the first time Remus had seen her do so, and she immediately seemed to burst with power and defiance as she looked at Lily. "Lily, anything a wizard-born kid can do, so can you, and don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise. If anyone, and I mean anyone so much as suggests that they are better than you because their parents can do magic too, don't you believe them, because you're a much better person than many people from pure wizarding families that I know."  
Lily nodded, obviously already having heard this from Sephine and worrying slightly about what her friend meant. Remus, slightly taken aback, gestured to the table. "Shall we go then?"  
Sephine nodded and brushed past him, weaving a way for them through the tables. "Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?"  
The boy lifted his eyelids to reveal startling blue eyes. He smirked around his straw. "Yeah. Me."  
Sephine raised an eyebrow, picked up an armful of his bags, and placed them on the floor, before seating herself on the chair she had cleared. "Is there any room for anyone else here?"  
The boy grinned. "Nope. You can have all the space you want, though, Sephy."  
She half smiled. "How about my friends, fly boy?"  
Remus wondered what she meant by friends for a moment, then realised with a shock that she meant Lily and him. He stared at her for a moment, then frowned in thought. He hadn't...known he'd make friends so quickly. He hadn't known he'd make friends at all. He didn't think any one would have wanted to be friends with him.  
Meanwhile, the boy had removed his feet from the table with a sigh and replied, "Honestly, Sephine, you're always cramping my style."  
"Well, Sirius, no-one's easier to cramp than you." She retorted. "This is Lily Evans, the girl I told you about, and this is Remus...uh sorry, what's you're second name again?"  
He smiled, "Lupin."  
"Thanks. Remus Lupin. We met him by chance when Henry insulted him."  
Now Sirius raised his eyebrow and addressed Remus. "Poor you. Was it the old 'hedge' one?"  
"Yup."  
"Ooh." Sirius winced. "She taught the damn thing how to say that ages ago, and now unless she tells him otherwise, he'll just pop out with it at random. It gets really annoying."  
Sephine pretended to pout and stroked the moody bird that had made its way down her arm and onto the table. "Oh, Henry's not that bad, are you, sweetie? You're just insecure around huge male egos, aren't you?"  
"So now you're saying it's the bird that cramps my style and not you?"  
She grinned. "That's about it."  
After ordering their ice creams and relaxing in the sun, the four sat idly chatting about everything from end of term exams to wizard chess, and Remus felt happier than he'd ever been. Just hanging out with others his own age made him feel almost normal. Until about four o'clock, when he saw the white ghost of the child's moon hover in the blue sky. He sighed; feeling once more isolated, and excused himself. "I've got to go meet my dad from work. See you guys on the train, maybe."  
"Sure!"  
"Yeah, c'ya Remus!"  
"We'll save a compartment for you if you're late!"  
  
* * *  
  
Remus had cheered himself up a lot by the time he had reached the Muggle streets once more, and when his dad saw him, he was grinning from ear to ear.  
"Hey, son! How was your day?"  
"Dad, it was great! I met these other kids who're starting this year, and we went to Fortescue's and just talked and talked all afternoon, and they're gonna meet me on the Express, and they're called Sirius Black, Sephine Winters and Lily Evans. Lily's parents are Muggles and she's got a sister who's already at Muggle school and it's so weird all the stuff she says they make her do! And Sirius is saving for a motorbike, he's gonna make it fly like a broom he says! And Sephine's got this evil parrot called Henry who's a complete nutcase, just like her, and it always tells people that they look like they've come through a hedge backwards unless she tells it not to, and then it's really cool. And Sirius is from another big wizarding family, but he's really cool, he doesn't let it go to his head or anything, and Seph's teaching Lily to stand up to people who think they're better than her, and her mum's a healer but her dad's a Muggle and it's really weird. And ace. And..."  
Roland laughed. "I see you'll do fine at school, then, Remus?"  
"Yes! I can't wait! There's enchanted ceilings and candles and ghosts and..." 


	4. Wild Ride

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 4 - Wild Ride  
  
Remus flew through the wall, looking up in astonishment as he came out into the sunlit platform of nine and three quarters. His father appeared behind him, taking his hat off and dusting before replacing it. The huge space was as crowded as the London streets, and were it not for his heightened sight; Remus would never have spotted his friends.  
Sephine and Lily were whispering something to each other, glaring at a group of four or five girls to their right. Sirius was with a couple of other boys, joking and laughing. Remus hesitated. He had assumed they'd all be together. Now he didn't know who to go to. Before he could decide, however, Sirius shouted and beckoned him over. "Hey, Lupin! Come on!"  
Roland smiled, oblivious to his son's new turmoil. "Is that Sirius you were telling me about?"  
"Uh yeah." Remus glanced up at his father, then looked down again. "Bye Dad."  
Roland felt his eyes prick as he hugged his son. "Bye, Remus. See you at Christmas. Don't forget to write."  
"I will, Dad." Remus' voice was muffled in his dad's thick coat.  
Roland managed a smile. "Is that you will write, or you will forget?"  
Remus grinned and flicked his fringe away from his eyes. "Both."  
His father smiled, trying to be happy as his son made his way through the groups of children and parents to his friends.  
Remus also had to force his smile as he approached Sirius, wondering who the other boys were. "Hi, Sirius."  
"Hey, Remus! These are James Potter and Martin Thomas, my friends from home. This is Remus Lupin, the fellow...er...person that's been insulted by a parrot, that I was telling you about."  
Remus wondered what Sirius had told them, but the thought didn't last long, and he soon found himself deep in conversation with the other boys. James was quite tall and lanky, with black hair in a fractious style; the disobedient strands sticking up at all angles. His hazel eyes behind his round glasses appeared to have a twinkle similar to Dumbledore's. Martin's dark skin contrasted with his bleached yellow hair and his dark eyes had a roguish quality in their depths. James was, like Sirius, from a well- established wizarding background, and also like Sirius, he was very down to earth about it. Martin was like Sephine - only one of his parents was magical. His dad worked very high up in the Ministry, and his mum owned a coffee shop in their small town. Martin referred to them as being 'the best of both worlds', which Remus couldn't fault.  
When the call for boarding finally came, Remus glanced back quickly and saw that his dad had stayed. He smiled and waved, wanting his dad to know he'd seen him. Roland waved back, relieved, as Remus scuttled onto the huge steam engine after his friends.  
  
* * *  
  
Settling down to a four player game of exploding snap, the four boys barely noticed the time pass. About two hours into the journey, though, they were interrupted by a timid voice. "Um...is there any room here?"  
They looked up, and Remus realised how daunting a group of close friends they must have seemed to the heavily freckled face peering around the screen.  
Sirius smiled cheekily and raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Maybe. But if you didn't have anywhere to go, then why have you only come now? You been sitting in the corridor for two hours?"  
The boy fidgeted, his slightly greasy, thin blonde hair flopping over his eyes. "Um. The people I was with threw me out."  
James' eyebrows shot up and he leant forwards in interest. "Oh? Why?"  
The boy appeared embarrassed by the question. "Look, do you have room or not?"  
"We're no way saying unless we know why you were thrown out by your last buddies!" Martin exclaimed.  
"Uh...well...we were opening our lunches and er...I had a chocolate frog in mine...but it was um... a really old one. From like a year ago. My dad must have switched it with the new one for a prank, and it escaped. And it came out half-melted and all mouldy. And jumped all over these two girls, before their parrot ate it. And then that gave the parrot a really bad stomach. And it was all a bit messy."  
The four boys stared at the newcomer, smirks twisting their way onto each face before muffled laughter erupted from Martin, and he had to clap his hand to his mouth. In between chokes of suppressed sniggers Sirius managed to ask; "By any chance was one of these girls Sephine Winters?"  
"Uh yeah, I think that was her name," the boy looked wary, unsure of whether they were laughing at him or not.  
"Ho-oh! Yes!" James and Sirius exchanged high fives. "Come in, come in! What's your name?"  
"Um, Peter."  
"Peter?"  
"Um Peter?"  
"Peter Peter?"  
"Peter Pan?"  
"Just Peter?"  
"Just William?"  
"No. It's none of those. It's--"  
"Peter Pan!"  
"No, it's--"  
"Well then I must be Wendy!"  
"But--"  
"Ooh can I be Hook?"  
"Ah ha! My arch enemy! Draw your weapon, Remus Hook!"  
"I draw my weapon, Wendy Black! Beware the mighty...er school tie!"  
"Ooh! He's going to spank me with it! Peter Pan, save me!"  
"I'm called Peter Pe--"  
"HELP!!"  
"Down with you, you lost girlboy!"  
"Oh, bad form, captain!"  
"Fear not, Wendy! Your Lost Boys are here!"  
"What took you so long?"  
"Well, we were lost!"  
"Ah you lost boys are hopeless! Captain Remus Hook can bring you down any day!"  
"Ow! That hit me!"  
"Well you should have jumped! Dance, boy, dance!"  
"Oh, we're doomed!"  
"Only Peter Pan can save us!"  
Peter stood in the doorway, staring in astonishment at Remus standing on the table, tie in hand, and Sirius at 'tie point', with James and Martin 'cowering' behind him.  
"Uh...My name's Peter Pettigrew."  
Instantly, the boys dropped postures, props and costumes, and leaped from the furniture to face little Peter, who was rather overcome by the apparent insanity of his new compartment-mates.  
"Pettigrew, eh?"  
"Hmm. sounds familiar..."  
"Yes my parents--"  
"Mmm on the list this one, definitely."  
"Major offender..."  
"But--"  
"No! It's down to the station with you, lad!"  
Peter gave up. They were obviously quite mad.  
  
* * *  
  
As the five boys scuttled down the aisle, uniforms under arms, and 'spy faces' present on the slightly less sane members of the party, they rounded a corner and came face to face with murder on legs. Sephine glared at them and then at the clothes that had been knocked from her hands. She plainly was not used to a uniform. Her pleated skirt was uneven and creased, a couple of pleats sticking out at a strange angle, and her shirt wasn't tucked in at the back. Her tie was done in the wrong sort of knot, and her collar looked like it had been starched upright. Her robe only made it look worse, not better.  
If it hadn't been for the deadly bolts of sapphire that pinned them all to the spot, the boys would have been hard pressed to keep upright from laughing so hard. Finally trusting himself to speak without exploding into a fit of sniggers, Sirius led them on again, ruffling her hair as he walked past her. "Nice one, Seph."  
Remus turned for a final glance as they continued, and was rewarded with the sight of her stalking away, a thin ladder spreading up her tights from her ankle to the back of her knee.  
  
* * *  
  
Following his friends through the steady stream of pupils leaving the train, Remus tugged at his tie. He couldn't stand the restriction on his neck, but he knew one had to look one's best when attending such an elite school. Although he did notice that Sephine didn't seem to know this, she had neatened up slightly. Her auburn hair was tamed into a bun at the top of her head, only a couple of wisps escaping. Her tie and shirt collar were marginally better and her shirt was tucked in, but again, Remus noticed the ladder. He could just make out the sparkle of pink nail polish restricting the path of it, and adding a dash of colour to the dark uniform. He pointed it out to Sirius, who rewarded him with one of his customary sniggers.  
Although required to follow the dark shape that intermittently called "Firs' years this way!" the 'firs' years' were rather apprehensive of the size of their leader. A rumour began to spread throughout the crowd that he was a giant, and Dumbledore's slave. Remus didn't think he believed the slave part, but the man was certainly big enough to be a giant.  
When the giant announced that they would cross the great lake in little enchanted rowboats, a distinctive voice stated, "I am not crossing the lake. Not at all, not even if it were daylight and we were in secure transport and it was nice weather." As Sephine spoke, droplets of rain began to patter down, tap dancing on the lake's black glass surface.  
"Now, Miss Win'ers, there'll be no need for worry. These boats are perfectly secure."  
"I'm not."  
"Come now, yeh can come in the same one as me, and I'll keep a 'old of yeh..."  
"I'm NOT."  
By now almost everyone was silent, listening to the exchange and wondering what the giant would do.  
"It's perfectly safe, I swear."  
"No!"  
"Why? Why won't yeh?"  
"NO!" Her voice cracked slightly. Peter wondered if he was the only sane person in the whole year.  
The giant sighed. "Honestly, I don't know wha' teh do wi' yeh. Bloody firs' years gettin' worse an' worse each year. Sometimes I'm inclined teh agree with young Filch! Miss, Win'ers, wha' deh yeh sugges' we do then?"  
"Can I go in a carriage?"  
"Well I'm not gettin' one bloody carriage down 'ere jus' fer yeh! Either yeh come with us, or we all go in carriages." This suggestion was met with dozens of complaints, and the whole year rose up in protest. Sephine pouted and folded her arms, like a toddler used to getting its own way that has suddenly been told 'no'.  
"Come on, Sephine. Yeh'll get jus' as wet standin' 'ere as yeh would if yeh were teh fall in the lake - which yeh won't!"  
"I can't swim!" She cried.  
"Yeh won't need teh! Don't worry yehself. It'll be fine. D'yeh wanna go wi' yeh friends? Or wi' me?"  
"Don't want either. But I'll go with Lily, I guess." Sephine finally sniffed. Everyone cheered. They would not have been pleased if this one girl had denied them all the experience of crossing the lake.  
Peter was about to get in the same boat as the trembling Sephine and the excited Lily, when almost with a snarl Sephine erupted. "No! You're not coming on, Peter! I do not trust you."  
"Okay." Peter understood and with an apologetic smile approached the others. But their boat already had four. "Oh." He looked so disappointed that Remus felt guilty.  
"Ah Jeez, alright Peter. Get in. I'll go with the others." He clambered out and joined the girls, wondering who'd end up being their fourth member.  
It turned out to be a ginger haired boy with a lot of freckles and a wicked grin. One too wicked for a Weasly, Remus decided. He hopped in heavily and the small boat rocked. Sephine gave a scream and clutched the sides, eyes popping in shock. "You ff-f-freak! What the hell did you do that for!?"  
"Do what?" The boy put on a mock innocent face as he looked down at her from where he stood holding the lamp pole up. "That was my normal jump. Are you saying I'm overweight?" He sniggered. "I'm Charlie."  
Remus looked up thoughtfully. "You're not a Weasly, are you?"  
The boy sighed. "Ah at last! Someone who can see that I'm not a Weasly! You must have some sixth sense, mate. I'm Charlie Cookson, Mudblood, Muggle-child extra-ordinaire!"  
Remus and Sephine exchanged glances, surprised at this casual use of the word, and wondering if Charlie knew what an insult he had just given himself. Lily saw their expressions, and remained silent, obviously having heard about this from Sephine.  
"Uh, hi." Remus said. "My name's Remus, these are Sephine and Lily."  
Charlie grinned and bowed. "Greetings, fair maidens. And Remus."  
Remus smiled for the show, not particularly impressed by this boy. Lily seemed interested in finding one of her own kind, and Sephine looked ready to leap the metre gap to the shore as the boat headed away from land on its own.  
Charlie noticed this and raised an eyebrow. "Is she hyperventilating?"  
"No, she's just got a fear of water. Says she prefers fire for some reason." Lily seemed unconcerned.  
"Fire, eh? Well if you're interested in fire, sweetie, I'm one hell of a fiery red-head..."  
Lily, as unimpressed as Remus, lowered her eyebrows patronisingly. "I wouldn't play with fire if I were you, Charlie." 


	5. Sorted

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 5 - Sorted  
  
The nervous first years filtered into the Great Hall, faces on all sides turning to peer at them, some with interest, some remembering the embarrassment and pitying, others seeing them as a source of amusement.  
Friendship groups huddled together in the centre of the large aisle, loners attaching themselves to already formed groups. Eventually, after much shuffling and encouraging, the new Head of Lower School, Professor McGonagall, got one hundred first years into the aisle and made her way to her new seat next to the Headmaster.  
This was the first time the pupils had seen the inside of Hogwarts, and for most, the first time any of them had seen Dumbledore. In the glow of the thousands of hovering candles, the old wizard's hair shone gold, his glasses twinkled with his eyes. Everything in the Hall gleamed gold, promising warmth and acceptance. And yet, despite the splendour on parade, there sat in front of the queue of new students a tattered old hat, ripped and patched, on a wobbly stool.  
McGonagall stood up next to the smiling headmaster and unrolled a large piece of parchment. "Atchester, Henry." The boy detached himself from his clique and walked shakily to the stool. McGonagall lifted the hat and he sat down. The hat was placed on Henry's head, and slid down over his eyes. Then, a very astonishing thing happened, and all the first years jumped, especially Henry. The hat was alive! A large rip and two creases above it gave the old piece of leather a face, a face which now seemed to be whispering something in Henry's ear. Try as they might, however, no one else could hear the Sorting Hat's secret whispers. Finally, it 'looked' up. "HUFFLEPUFF!"  
The Hufflepuff table cheered, and Henry practically ran to the safety of the crowds, sliding onto the bench with a red glow on his cheeks.  
"Avery, Martin."  
The terrified boy stepped forwards, his normally tense muscles wobbling as he trembled. The Hat again spoke to him, before announcing "SYTHERIN!" Deep cheers reverberated out from the table in the farthest corner.  
"Baggwort, Helen."  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
"Black, Jennifer."  
Remus turned to Sirius. "That a relation of yours?"  
"No. I just have a common name." Sirius grinned.  
"Black, Sirius."  
"Good luck, Si!" James whispered, as his friend cast a mock-scared glance over his shoulder...but Remus noticed the paling in Sirius' skin.  
As before, the Hat bent over Sirius' head, obscuring his eyes and murmuring no one knew what into his ears. When it straightened, the lower half of Sirius' face looked slightly worried and puzzled. "GRYFFINDOR!"  
Still frowning, Sirius removed the hat and placed it on the stool. He walked to the cheering Gryffindor table in a daze and barely acknowledged the pats on the back and promises that he was in the best house.  
His friends, slightly puzzled by his silence, began to worry about what the Hat would say to them, and what house it would put them in.  
Soon, Charles Cookson was the first Ravenclaw of the evening, and Horace Crabbe and Bartemius Crouch were sorted into Slytherin.  
Sephine pushed through the crowd to stand near James and Martin. "Slytherin are doing well tonight." Her voice was grim, as was the answering nod from James.  
Lily, all innocence, queried, "Why is that so bad?"  
"You'll find out soon enough if you're not in Slytherin." Martin replied.  
Remus clarified this for the confused girl. "Slytherin are often associated with the Dark Arts. Practically all witches and wizards who've gone evil have been in Slytherin. They're known for being power hungry and unscrupulous in their methods."  
Lily frowned. "Well then why aren't they split between houses? Surely the influence of others would help them?"  
But before anyone could answer her, McGonagall called, "Evans, Lillian."  
Lily paled, but Sephine smiled encouragingly, "You'll be okay!"  
"What if I'm in Slyth--"  
"Miss Evans?"  
"You won't be!"  
Lily cast a final doubting glance over her shoulder before making her way tentatively up the steps. Her friends watched as the Hat bent over her worried green eyes and spoke to her, but when it stopped, Lily looked more puzzled than worried. "GRYFFINDOR!" The Hat called.  
Sirius was amongst the loudest cheerers on the Gryffindor bench, and Lily seemed quite daunted by the huge noise in the room. But she made her way quietly to the bench, a shy smile on her pink cheeks.  
All too soon - Remus felt - it would be his turn to be Sorted. He tried to hide his worry, but he couldn't help but fret that the wolf would be the one that determined his house. He didn't want his other identity to separate him from his friends, or to place him with those who could corrupt easily.  
"Lupin, Remus." He jumped, and James smiled.  
"C'mon, Rem! You'll be okay!"  
Remus nodded and made his way to the front of the diminishing crowd of first years. He looked up at the Hat, held aloft in McGonagall's hand, and the three steps seemed to be three hundred as he dragged his feet up them one by one. He sat carefully on the rickety old seat, and found himself facing a Hall full of mostly strangers, all looking up eagerly, awaiting the Hat's decision. As the weight of the Sorting Hat fell on his head, and the smell of old leather filled the air, Remus felt the Hat twitch and become 'alive'.  
He jumped again, and clung to the sides of the stool as a deep, throaty, but not unkind, voice filled his head. "Ahhh...you are lucky to be here...yes, this is the first I've met of your kind in a long time, and so young! That shows great bravery and stamina...but the presence...it is strong..." Remus tensed. It was going to shout out Slytherin any minute! "But you keep it under great control...again, very strong, full of courage. But you're wise, too wise for your age, and have a mischievous streak...perhaps Ravenclaw? But no...that bravery cannot be ignored! It must be encouraged... GRYFFINDOR!" The shout was directed to the Hall, but it still seemed awfully loud to Remus' sensitive ears. He glanced around as he took the Hat off...how could no one else have heard what it was saying?  
Then, however, the cheers of the Gryffindor table, and Lily and Sirius' whoops met his ears. He looked at them in shock, then grinned and made his way across to them before sliding onto the bench next to Sirius. "Phew...!"  
Sirius laughed, "Remus, there was no need to look so worried! You were the colour of Dumbledore's beard! Honestly, as if they'd put you in Slytherin!"  
Remus frowned. "I never said I--"  
"Well that's the worst they can do to you, so it figures that that's what you were so worried about. Hey, who the hell is that? He looks like a hunk of granite!"  
Not needing to squint, Remus saw what Sirius meant. The boy had very angular features - but not in the same way as Charlie had. He lacked the smile creases and striking appearance that softened Charlie's face, but his nose looked as though it had been broken several times, and his dirty blonde hair was greasier than a floor mop. "I think that he's called Trurn Mahbism."  
"Looks like a nasty piece of work."  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
"Is a nasty piece of work..."  
The boys sniggered at their little joke as Peter Pettigrew stumbled up to the Hat. As before, it was placed on his head and talked to him. To Remus, now without tension, as having been already Sorted, the Hat seemed to take a lot longer with Peter. When it called out "GYFFINDOR!" Peter leapt from the stool and began to flee towards the table, only to be met with laughter, and McGonagall calling him back. He'd forgotten to take the Hat off.  
"Well done, Peter!" Sirius stood up and clapped with the rest of the Hall as the bright pink Peter made his way back to the bench.  
When the Hall subsided, McGonagall lifted her parchment once more. "Potter, James."  
"Go James, it's your birthday!" Sirius whispered, miming like a cheerleader. Lily tried to contain her giggle.  
After it's conference with him, the Hat announced, "GRYFFINDOR!" and James, grinning from ear to ear, and not making Peter's mistake, strutted over to the Gryffindor table. "As if there was any doubt..."  
Sirius snorted. "Yeah, James. But damnit, I've lost my bet with those guys at The Leaky Cauldron now! I was sure it would be Hufflepuff!"  
They all tried to restrain their laughter as the Hall went silent again, but the silence only seemed to make it harder.  
"Rosier, Luke."  
A mean-looking boy stepped up to the Hat, and got Sorted very quickly into Slytherin. And not long after, it was Martin's turn. Sirius insisted that it was only because the others were rooting for him so hard that Sirius had 'lost another bet'.  
By the time the end of the alphabet approached, and only three students remained standing in a cluster in the aisle, Gryffindor and Slytherin were dominating the Sorting. Ravenclaw still only had one new first year, and it was evident from the teachers' faces, that the Sorting Hat had never divided houses so definitely before.  
"Winters, Sephine."  
Sephine arched an eyebrow and straightened her tie, stepping confidently up to the stool. Almost as soon as it was placed on her head, the Hat jumped and shouted out "RAVENCLAW!" Practically the whole Hall cheered, even if some of it was mocking (the Slytherins), and Sephine laughed along with it, as she bowed to the Ravenclaw table, before joining Charlie.  
That only left 'Wilkes, Johnathan' "SLYTHERIN!" and 'Woodward, Anne' "HUFFLEPUFF!" before the Headmaster stood up, his earlier expression of disquiet now masked.  
The Hall sat in raptured silence, all gazing up at Dumbledore in awe and admiration. "Tonight, I'm sure you will all agree, has been a highly unusual Sorting. Never have I, nor any member of staff, I'm sure, ever witnessed such an uneven spreading of the four virtues. Although we seem to be lacking on the 'wise front' this year, have no worries, Ravenclaw, The Hat will always make up the differences another year. But for now, let us get to know our new friends over a banquet - " The wizard clapped his hands once, and the golden crockery blossomed in an instant, with plates and goblets alike overflowing with a delicious selection of foods. That night, stomachs were bigger than eyes, as more and more tantalising meals presented themselves. The first years felt like they were in heaven. 


	6. Lessons

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 6 - Lessons  
  
That year, Slytherin had fifty new students, Hufflepuff, twenty-five, Gryffindor twenty-three, and Ravenclaw two. Due to the 'slight' unbalance in numbers, the Ravenclaws shared classes with the Gryffindors, and the Slytherins were split into two groups.  
The Gryffindor/Ravenclaw's first lesson was Charms. Professor Flitwick, although disappointed at having only two new additions to his house, filled everyone with such enthusiasm that the boredom of theory was dispelled by the prospect of actually carrying out the charms in a week or two.  
Of course, even when practising simple wand-waving motions, things went wrong...often on purpose. About halfway through the lesson, boredom slipping in despite Flitwick's encouragements, and just having swished-and- flicked for what felt like the hundredth time, Sirius' concentration broke, and as he yawned and pointed his wand, a slug shot from its tip and landed right in Amy Corely's lap. She stifled a squeak, and looked up in anger. When she saw Sirius giggling in surprise, she picked the slug up gingerly and hurled it back. Sirius was relieved to find that she wasn't a very good shot. Peter wasn't so relieved, however he couldn't exactly ask Flitwick if he could be excused to go and wash slug slime out of his hair.  
Charlie and Sephine, having noticed this, and being good, wise and witty Ravenclaws now began to plot ways of making people jump, and began a competition to see who could make who jump the highest. Charlie won by Charming a small bat into Lily's robe. Practically the whole class was surpressing laughter, only Lily - who didn't find it very amusing - and Flitwick - who appeared to be totally oblivious - weren't laughing.  
Their first Potions class was not one so fun to remember as the Charms one. The Master, Professor Trugin, was the Head of Slytherin, and delighted in teaching two classes of Slytherins, and torturing the other two classes. By the end of the first lesson, the four front row benches were occupied unwillingly by Charlie and Sephine, James and Sirius, Remus and Martin, and Lily and Peter.  
Trugin scanned the class with piggy little eyes and finally fixed his penetrating gaze on Remus. "What are the properties of the herb, Wolfsbane?"  
Remus seemed to pale under the harsh stare, and finally swallowed. "It's supposed to provide protection from Dark Creatures--"  
"Be more specific!"  
Remus swallowed again. "--Such as the...the werewolf."  
"And?"  
"...And if one of these Dark Creatures is...touched by, or ingests some Wolfsbane, it er...dies."  
Trugin smiled cruelly, "Very good, Lupin...very good...I suppose I'd better give Gryffindor five points."  
But once Remus and his friends occupied the front seats, Gryffindor had lost thirty points and Ravenclaw ten. As the lesson progressed, the first years began to see how Trugin liked to reward a little, only to take away the reward and more.  
  
* * *  
  
By the second day of lessons, all the new students could think about was the quickly approaching lunchtime Quidditch lesson. Most were willing the time away, desperate to get to the pitch, but Remus was dreading it. He'd promised he'd come - what kind of a wizarding boy didn't like Quidditch? But he was dreading it.  
All one hundred first years assembled on the still dewy autumn pitch and eyed the broomsticks laid on the floor with (mostly) excitement. Remus found his teeth chattering, and desperately tried to stop them.  
Sirius gave him an odd look. "It's not that cold, Remus!"  
Remus managed a weak grin, as Madam Hooch, a very young teacher yet, strode down the middle of the two parallel rows. "Right!" She said in her brusque manner, "Step up to your broom, raise a hand above it, and say 'up!'"  
Most, not expecting this sudden order, hesitated, but Remus hesitated the longest. The most exuberant were already shouting 'up' when Remus stepped forwards. He looked around, and saw James, Sirius and Sephine already holding their brooms, and Martin, Charlie and Lily's were dancing on the floor. Peter's wouldn't budge for him. Severus Snape, after a final sounding "UP!!" managed to raise his broom - slowly - and shot a sneer at the first person he could see who hadn't. Remus didn't cringe.  
He raised one violently trembling hand out over the broom, and his previously clenched sweaty palm now felt cold as the late September breeze brushed it. He swallowed hard, and tried to still his hand.  
"Lupin, you don't have to be here, you know." Madam Hooch whispered in his ear. She had arrived so suddenly that he jumped, and his almost stilled hand began to quake again. She sounded almost maternal, like some hen clucking over a runt chick that she pitied.  
"I'm fine." He forced out.  
He looked up guiltily at the row opposite him as she moved away reluctantly. Sephine was eyeing him suspiciously, but looked away when he saw her. Almost all the pupils had raised their brooms now. Remus whispered, "...up..." and the broom shot up with such force that he rocked backwards and almost dropped it again.  
"Jeez, Louise!" Sirius exclaimed. "What took you so long, Rem? Did you just forget to say the word out loud?"  
A few minutes later, fed up with Peter's lack of...whatever was needed to raise a broom...Madam Hooch lifted the broom from the ground to the boy's open hand.  
"Now, on my whistle, I want you to mount your brooms, kick off from the ground, hard, and hover a meter or so up. You will attempt to keep it that way until I say otherwise, but if you cannot, I'd rather you went down than up." She blew her whistle.  
Remus saw Lily lean across to Sephine, and heard her whisper hurriedly, "Seph! Help! Do I need some sort of background knowledge for this or something? How do you make it hover??"  
Sephine, who already had one leg on each side of her broomstick, grinned. "Like this!" And pushed off, her toes now dangling a foot or so off the grass.  
Lily scoffed. "Oh, you're a great help!" And tried it herself. Her slightly round face lit up in ecstasy when she found how easy it was.  
Remus almost smiled at this, when he realised his own broom was still waiting patiently in his right hand. He gathered his robe with the other hand and threw a leg over. A part of him that was still a scared four-year- old lost in the Forest half-expected the monster to loom out in front of him, calling its terrible call. But no such thing happened, and the light sweat on his forehead was unjustified.  
He shoved the ground lightly with the balls of his feet and found himself in the air again for the first time in nearly eight years.  
Martin laughed. "Hey, don't look so astonished! You're not the only one! I'd have thought you'd have been used to this sort of thing, coming from a wizarding family and all?"  
Remus tried to smile, and thought it worked. Martin had obviously not seen the boy's linen-white knuckles wrapped around the stick.  
Madam Hooch flitted from student to student, cooing and clucking and adjusting and encouraging. She seemed especially proud when she arrived at Remus, Or maybe it's just me that's proud. I did it! He was relaxing, the presence of others making him feel a little more secure...a little further from the memories. 


	7. Wit and Willow

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 7 - Wit and Willow  
  
It was Remus' third week at Hogwarts by the time the Full Moon came around. That week, he could feel the ache deep in his bones and joints begin to throb, and began losing much more sleep to nightmares.  
He awoke one morning to James Potter's concerned shakes. "Remus? Remus are you okay?"  
Remus sat bolt upright and stared in horror at his friend, one hand clapped over his mouth. "What-What did I say?" He muttered.  
James frowned. "Er...I think you were shouting for your parents..."  
Remus relaxed a little. "Oh. Sorry. I'm fine now. It's just...my Mum isn't too well, and I might have to go home to look after her sometime soon. My Dad's really busy at work this week."  
This story just tumbled from his lips - it came so easily that Remus was almost scared by the way he had come up with it; the ease with which the lie had emerged.  
James, however, just nodded in understanding and patted his shoulder before retreating to his own bed.  
That day in History of Magic, Sephine outwitted Professor Binns, and consequently he left her alone for the rest of the lesson. She and Charlie took advantage of this lull in attention from the teacher, and used it to gain the attention of the other students instead. Normally, Remus would have been giggling along with the rest of them, however this time; all he wanted to do was lay his head on the table and go to sleep.  
As the day progressed he got more and more dozy, and nearly walked off one of the staircases as it was moving. Amy Corely grabbed his arm to stop him falling. "Gosh, Remus! What's wrong with you today? You seem way more subdued. Are you ill? You look a bit greenish? Maybe you drank too much, and you're turning into a frog!" She laughed.  
"I'm fine." He snapped, tearing his arm free, and not wanting to listen to her nonsensical babble. But then he saw her wounded expression.  
"Gee, I'm sorry, it was just harmless curiosity!"  
"I'm sorry, Amy. I didn't sleep too well last night. I must be a bit tired. I didn't mean anything."  
She nodded. "Okay, I understand.  
"Hey, if you're having trouble sleeping, maybe you should talk to Madam Pomfrey, the nurse? I hear she's got a potion that guarantees you have a dreamless sleep, although you probably don't wake up the next morning till midday or something and."  
Remus tuned her voice out, and gazed at the paintings as the class walked to Defence Against The Dark Arts. He nearly stopped in his tracks though, when he saw a painting of a man standing in a forest, surrounded by wolves. The man appeared to be talking to them.  
Remus was intrigued, but he couldn't stop, as the crowd forced him to keep going.  
  
* * *  
  
Remus didn't get a chance that day to see the painting again. He did go to Madam Pomfrey as Amy had suggested, though. The Sun was sinking low on the horizon as she led him across the dampening grass towards the Whomping Willow. The clouds that frosted the evening sky burnt red, and Remus wished - not for the first time in his life - that he was able to watch the Sun go down and to see a Full Moon rise - through his own eyes for a change. Pomfrey had secured the Willow, and waited patiently as Remus stared at the dazzling display. He finally tore his eyes away, and peered down inside the Willow. It wasn't pitch black, but Remus wished it were. He could see eery silhouettes of roots and piles of soil, all in a terrible blue silver -  
  
(Like the Moon)  
  
- light. He drew a breath, looked once, lastly, imploringly at Madam Pomfrey. She smiled comfortingly, but he could see her expression was beginning to get nervous. He turned then, and scrambled down into the near-dark.  
  
* * *  
  
The Wolf didn't like being given so much more freedom yet so much more restriction. It resented the new arrangements made for it, and it positively hated the smell of humans around the house. To the wolf, everything in the building stank of humans, awakening its hunger without satisfying it.  
  
* * *  
  
Remus' eyelids fluttered as the cool, crisp light of a November dawn floated in through the charmed shutters on the nearest window. He was lying at the foot of the stairs, and he felt bruised all over. As always after it, his fingertips and nails throbbed, and his mouth felt full of splinters. He rolled over to his side and struggled to his feet, pieces of shattered wood and glass tinkling and clattering as they fell off him. He brushed himself down slowly, then looked at his palms; they were raw and torn, as usual. He groaned, and made for the old mirror in the hall of the house. When he got there, he found that there was only one piece left big enough to get any form of a reflection from. The pieces were all over the floor, and.Remus glanced sharply from his reflection to the back of his hand. "How come I didn't feel that?" He muttered, gingerly getting a grip on the shard. He gritted his teeth and gave it a little tug. Pain flared, and he drew his left hand away quickly with a cry of indigence. He tried again, this time going for one fast yank. However, he found this didn't work either, and doubled over at the pain. When he looked again, he saw that the piece was bigger than he had thought, and he had succeeded in pulling it out a bit. It was now streaked with his blood at the bottom. Madam Pomfrey was waiting anxiously for him at the entrance, a numbing potion ready in her hands. She hurried him to the infirmary, bustling him along to get him there before students began to wake up. She tucked Remus up in a screened bed and removed the piece of mirror from his hand with a quick spell, all the while clucking and complimenting him on his bravery. When she had finished attending to all his cuts and bruises that were bad enough to merit attention, Madam Pomfrey finally left him to sleep, casting one final pitying glance over her shoulder.  
  
* * *  
  
Remus woke up late in the afternoon and scurried quietly to the Gryffindor dormitory. "Patronum!" he whispered to the painting of the Fat Lady, desperate to get to the next lesson before anyone saw him. The door swung open and Remus charged up the stairs to the room he shared with James, Sirius and Peter. He threw the door open and ran to the trunk at the foot of his bed, a sense of urgency growing within him each second.  
"Hey, Remus, what's the hurry?" Remus jumped so hard that the lid of his trunk slammed down on his fingers. "Argh! Peter? What on earth are you doing here?" "Well, I forgot my textbook for Potions, so Professor Trugin chased me out, and told me to go and get it, but I've lost it! I can't find it anywhere, Remus, you have to help me!" "Um." Remus said, sucking his bruised fingers and surveying the mess Peter had made on and around his bed by emptying his trunk out. "Is that it?" He asked, pointing with a swelling finger. "Wow, yeah! Remus you're a saviour! I'd never have seen that!" Peter pounced on the book. Then, however, his round joyful face transformed into a slightly suspicious and worried one as he studied his friend. "Where were you, Remus? Everyone was dead worried. James said you'd probably gone to see your Mum. Is she okay?" Remus fidgeted. "Uh.she'll be okay I think, Peter. Thanks for asking. Let's get to Potions, shall we? I don't want Trugin taking more points off Gryffindor because of us." So the two boys ran even faster back to the dungeons, and burst through the doors just as Trugin was about to express his displeasure at Peter's lack of organisation. And just as Sephine and Charlie's cauldron exploded. Peter, who had been the first to enter, got covered in a fluorescent yellow liquid, whereas Remus, who had been shielded by Peter, was saved the hassle. Sephine and Charlie were laughing too much for the potion to have just hit Peter though. Indeed, Remus saw that Trugin had got the worst of the explosion. Yellow slime dripped off his hooked nose and ran along his mono-brow. A huge glob was forming at his pointy chin, and his normally greasy hair now looked as though it had been in a frying pan. A strange noise came from his throat, but Sephine and Charlie couldn't hear it, because they were laughing so much. No one else laughed. They all waited to see what Trugin would do. Trugin opened his mouth wide, and drew a deep breath. "QUACK!!!" He bellowed. Sephine and Charlie burst out laughing harder than ever, and this time the rest of the class joined them. Peter turned round to the disbelieving Remus, nodding his head and laughing too. "Quack!" He exclaimed. Then in great surprise clapped his hands to his mouth. "Quack?" "QUA-AAAAAAAACK!" shouted Trugin. He almost achieved the silence he desired. "QUACK!" he yelled at Sephine and Charlie. "Quack, quack, quack! Quack!" Charlie managed to raise an eyebrow and stop his muffled giggles. "I'm s- sorry, Sir! I don't understand you!" "QUAAAAAAAAACK!" Trugin turned away from Charlie and Sephine and began rummaging in his cupboard, muttering "Quack, quack, quack. Quack, quack, quack," all the time to himself. He then started throwing ingredients into a cauldron, hastily preparing the antidote. Just as he was about to raise the cup of potion he'd brewed to his quivering lips, the school bell chimed. "Whoopee!" Charlie shouted, and he and Sephine dashed for the door, bags slung over shoulders. "Hey, Rem'!" Charlie clapped him on the shoulder as he raced past. "Nice to see you back, Rem'!" Sephine grinned, following Charlie, as Professor Trugin's shout of "WINTERS! COOKSON!" followed them out of the dungeon. Peter made his way tentatively towards Trugin. "Q-q-quack?" He asked. "Do you think you are being amusing?" Trugin screamed. "Get out! All of you!" "Quack!" Peter wailed. "Go away! The effects will wear off by tomorrow!" The Potions Master said irritably. "Hey! Remus! Where were you!" Sirius asked, bounding across the classroom, followed by James, Martin and Lily. "I, ah.I was just looking after my Mum for the night. She's not too good at the moment." Remus saw in the corner of his vision Trugin, who was eyeing him, a sly sneer spreading across his face. "Hey, I'm sorry, man." Martin said. "Hope she's feelin' better soon." "Yeah, me too, Rem'." James declared. "Hey, Remus. I hope you're okay, too?" Lily enquired. "Yeah I'm fine, thanks for asking, Lily." Sirius shook his head. "Gee, sorry, Rem'. Hope everything is okay." Remus nearly smiled in disbelief at the amount of concern he was being shown. If they knew really where I was, they wouldn't be so concerned. They'd have run right out that door like everyone else. "Everything's fine, Si'." 


	8. Colonel Collins

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 8 - Colonel Collins  
  
It wasn't until a full month later - after telling his friends his mother needed to see him again and after spending another horrible night in the Hogsmeade house - that as he was walking on his own to the library to get a book for his Astronomy homework that Remus remembered the painting of the man with the wolves. He stepped up to it, getting a few odd looks from passers-by as he stared. "Hello there." Said the man around his old pipe, meeting his gaze. He spoke in very precise, clipped English. Remus frowned, noting that the man wore an old Civil War-style uniform. "Hi." "I've seen you before, haven't I, boy?" "Yes." Remus gulped. People were openly staring now as they past him, but most just dismissed him as a wondering first year. "Why are you so interested in me, boy?" Remus swallowed again, and looked around pointedly. "Ah. I see. Follow me, then." And the man and his wolves darted from the picture. Remus jumped, looking about frantically. "Over here! Do try and keep up!" The man was in the next painting, one of a butcher and some dead pheasants. The butcher was attempting to fend off the wolves as they tried to reach the pheasants. Remus blinked, astonished, and walked up to the painting. "How did you--" But the man had run on again, to the next painting. This continued for some time, Remus gradually becoming more lost and more confused as the man and his wolves turned down countless tiny corridors, each and every one looking the same as the last. Finally, they stopped. Remus sat down on the stone floor opposite the painting they had stopped at. It was a painting of the Forbidden Forest. He wasn't out of breath - the wolf's stamina coming in useful - but he did pant from fear. Just the sight of the Forest again like that was enough to chill him. "So...why have you sought me out?" The man asked, absent-mindedly stroking a wolf's head. Remus clamped his lips stubbornly. "Who are you?" The man drew back a little in surprise. "Why, I thought you knew that, and that was why you wished to speak with me?" The boy shook his head. "Very well. My name is Colonel Richard Collins. I was a wizard in the times of the English Civil War, and I fought alongside the Muggles." Remus shook his head again. "There's something else, isn't there, Sir? Why would someone seek you because of that?" "History of Muggles homework?" "You can see I'm too young to be taking that." "I wouldn't know." Collins said with an air of indignation. "Why are those wolves so friendly to you, Colonel?" Remus asked - going straight to the point; not wanting a drawn-out conversation with the painting. That got Collins' attention. He peered shrewdly at Remus from his perch on a felled tree. "Why do you want to know?" "Curiosity." Remus replied nonchalantly. Collins smirked. "Now I think it is you who is hiding something." "Perhaps. Are you going to answer my question?" The Colonel surveyed him thoughtfully. "Yes. I shall. These wolves are so friendly to me because I am one of them." Remus gasped in excitement. He had wondered, and tried not to hope...but could it be that this man was a-a...like him? "What do you mean by that?" He whispered. The man paused, eyes glinting. He studied Remus further, and a terrible grin spread across his face. "What could I mean, but...I am a werewolf!" Trying to remain unconcerned and unaffected, whilst his insides writhed and jumped, Remus raised his eyebrows. "Oh...Really?" "Yes..." The Colonel hissed, his grin still in place. "Now, boy, what is your secret?" Remus looked up at the painting in sudden realisation and horror. There was a moon in the background of the painting, rising, slowly. And the glint and manic grin on Collins' face were enhanced by the change it was undergoing. The boy gave a shout of shock and leapt to his feet. The picture of Collins laughed, and drew a wand. Remus stopped. "You can't do anything. You're just a painting!" "Imperio!" It spat. Impossibly, Remus felt himself rooted to the spot. His mind went clear and he was floating in total bliss. Come closer to me, Remus Lupin... Remus felt himself moving. The world was so clear and peaceful... Good...yes. Put your right arm out. Come closer! But then a voice inside him shouted out, Why? Why should I? Do not question me! Come to me! No! No? Well, you aren't the only consciousness here... And the clarity and voice disappeared. But Remus could feel the other presence in his head still, it was exerting it's influence on the other part of Remus, the part that usually only came out to play once a month. He tried to fight it as the wolf's thoughts began to overrun his, but he had never been strong enough to overcome it before, and he couldn't now. The last thing he remembered was looking down at his hands and thinking, At least it's not a full transformation...  
  
* * *  
  
Remus woke up at a desk in the library with a book open in front of him. It was entitled, Lycanthropy and it's Uses by W. Eyre Wolfe and was obviously from the Restricted Section. Remus felt his eyebrows shoot up and his mouth fall open. He looked up to see Madam Pince, the librarian, walking purposefully towards him. "Oh good, you're awake!" She exclaimed. Remus grabbed the book and held the title cover to his chest, backing out of his seat and knocking his chair over. "You do know this is not a public slumber-house! You may come to the library to read in future, but please keep to sleeping in you dormitory!" Remus nodded frantically and headed for the door. "Pick that chair up before you go!" Pince shouted incredulously. "Yes, Miss." He muttered, throwing the chair he had knocked over upright, and bolting from the library. "Don't run in the corridors!" Madam Pince called after him. Remus ignored this cry and ran straight for the Gryffindor dorms. He had to tell his friends something about what had just happened! They were sitting around the fireplace in the huge red armchairs supplied. "You guys'll never guess what's happened!" Remus announced. "We know." James said. "What?" Remus froze. "You...know?" "The whole school does!" Lily said matter-of-factly. "Sure, some nut was running about dressed as a wolf and he shredded a load of paintings." Martin shrugged. "It was probably some numskull Ravenclaw like Charlie or Seph." Remus forced a laugh. "Yeah...I thought it was one of them, too." "What's that book you got, Rem'?" Sirius asked. Remus jumped. He had forgotten he was carrying that still. "I...nothing! I've just got to...go and return it. Right now!" And he turned and fled from the room. "I thought you'd just gone to the library?" Martin called. "Must have forgot!" He said, leaping out of the door. Madam Pince was re-shelving books when he got there. She was standing by the Herbology section and casting replacement spells. Remus snuck up to the desk and slipped the book onto it, before sneaking away again. "Overdue item?" "Argh! Charlie! Don't do that!" Charlie Cookson had snuck up himself - on Remus. And done a pretty good Madam Pince impression while he was at it. "Do what?" Charlie asked, all innocence. "So, good little Gryffindor boy's trying to get out of having to pay fines is he...?" "Yeah. You got me." Remus sighed, holding his hands up. "Oh Madam Pi-ince..." Charlie began. Remus grabbed his shoulders. "Don't!" "The fines that much? Hey, no sweat, Lupin! I was just kidding anyway! I'd never do that to anyone...except a Slytherin!" Charlie rubbed his hands together in glee. "So, ah Charlie..." Remus started. "Did you hear about the idiot who um, shredded a load of paintings just now? Martin thinks it was you." Charlie giggled "Nope, wasn't me - I respect art, me! Can't believe they didn't catch the bugger, though. Didn't someone say he was dressed as a wolf, too? Complete nutcase!" Remus nodded. Was it really me? Did Collins get control of the wolf, and - and use it to get revenge on his fellow paintings? What? How ridiculous does that sound! He's a painting. He couldn't have...could he? 


	9. Carving the Situation

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 9 - Carving the Situation  
  
The clear air and frost had the first years in high spirits. The grass crinkled and crunched beneath their shoes as they marched across the grounds, following Professor Sprout - who was keen to give them a special Herbology lesson on her new Whomping Willow.  
All one hundred of them circled the wild tree from a good distance, the occasional lashing of its limbs providing a clear enough warning to even the more adventurous of them.  
As Sprout began her descriptions of the tree, Trurn Mahbism and his gang of Slytherin thugs started circulating through the crowd. When they reached Remus and his friends it was obvious that they'd stirred up quite a commotion with the others, and this put the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws on guard.  
Addressing Sephine and Charlie, Trurn stated "we're setting a dare for the whole year. I'm thinking, that as Ravenclaws, you two will be eager to take part. Maybe even your goody, goody Gryffindor friends will?"  
"What's the dare?" Sephine asked.  
Mahbism smirked. "To carve something on the trunk of that tree." And pointed at the Willow.  
Remus glanced sharply at the Willow, looking at the point that subdued it. Dumbledore had said, "As for the danger to other students, well, we hope that a certain degree of sensibility will be observed around it..." As if to further underline his thoughts, the Willow lashed out a branch particularly close to them. Lily jumped.  
"That's possible." Charlie said thoughtfully, examining the tree.  
"Be sure to leave the name of your house." Mahbism said before leading his cronies away.  
"What do you think, Black?" Charlie asked.  
"It could be done, I bet. There must be some gap in the tree's defences." Sirius mused.  
"You with us, Seph?"  
"Sure."  
Lily stared at her friend. "Are you mad? You'll get yourselves killed!"  
"It's just a tree!" Charlie exclaimed.  
"It's not just a tree! Didn't you hear Professor Sprout? It's the second largest killer in this country!"  
"What's the first?" Charlie asked.  
"You-Know-Who of course!" Martin barked a laugh.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day the mild frost had escalated to a covering of snow just thick enough for snowballs to be made. It was icy, early snow, not very good for snowballs - however, this didn't stop the optimists at Hogwarts. There was a light-hearted game of Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw going on when a gang of Slytherins stalked over. Three second-years were with Trurn's gang. Two were very thickset and were obviously all braun no brain. The middle boy was tall and slim, with a haughty expression and a cold gleam to his ice-blue eyes. His blonde hair was immaculately plastered to his head with gel.  
"What do you say, first-years? Fancy a proper snowball fight?" He drawled.  
"You dare to fight us?" Charlie - who was either feeling immensely brave or incredibly stupid - folded his arms and mirrored the second-year's look.  
The boy sneered. "I'll risk it."  
It did start off as a clean fight. However, when the Slytherins found that they didn't get the overall majority of hits that they were expecting, they began encasing small stones in their snowballs.  
Martin was the first to discover this fact - he gave a yelp of surprise as one hit him on the cheek, opening an inch long gash in his brown skin. Charlie cursed the Slytherins loudly and profusely for this, and doubled his attacks.  
Whilst the boys concentrated on pure force, Sephine and Lily though a little more about tactics, and succeeded many times in hitting the Slytherins. Sephine snuck up behind Lucius Malfoy - the blonde boy - and threw a particularly icy snowball at the back of his head. His styled hair sprayed out with the snow when it hit, and he looked like some form of tropical bird, blonde plumage sticking out at all angles.  
It didn't take much long after that for the teams to come to blows, and they would have continued tearing chunks from one another for a lot longer, but for a terrible shriek that pierced the crisp, clear air.  
They all knew where it had come from, and raced towards the Whomping Willow - duels forgotten. A first-year Hufflepuff, Davey Gudgeon, was staggering about near the Willow. He held both hands to his right eye and wailed louder each second. Even from such a distance they could see the blood escaping from between his fingers.  
The Slytherin boys stopped and roared with laughter at Davey, not concerning themselves with his injury. By then, Gudgeon's cries had attracted a large crowd, and when Remus and his friends had reached him, Madam Pomfrey was already pushing her way through the crowd.  
Between his sobs, Davey spluttered to the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, "I dropped my Swiss Army Knife! It's under that horrid tree and my dad got me it for my eleventh birthday, as a reward for my getting into Hogwarts! If any of you lot get past that accursed thing, get my pocket knife back, please!"  
"Did you mark the tree?" Charlie asked in surprise.  
"No! I barely got close!" Gudgeon wailed.  
Before anyone could say anything further, Madam Pomfrey strode up, looking the angriest anyone had ever seen her. "I told Dumbledore it was wrong to bring that thing here! I told him someone would be injured! The risk was not justified!" For a reason unknown to the others, she cast a murderous glare at Remus as she led Davey away.  
"Jeez! What a mess!" Sephine exclaimed, looking down. The snow was dotted with blood that had trickled though Davey's fingers.  
"D'you think he lost the eye?" Martin asked.  
"With the noise he was making I wouldn't be surprised!" Sirius muttered.  
"Can any of you see his knife?" James asked, peering at the foot of the Willow.  
It didn't take Remus long to find it. "Yeah, right there." He pointed.  
"Oh, I see." Sephine nodded.  
"You two must be hallucinating!" Lily moaned. "I can't see a thing!"  
"Me either." Martin agreed. "I don't know what you guys are looking at, but there's no knife there!"  
Sephine shrugged. "I see what I see and I see a knife! If you guys don't then you don't - but I do!"  
"You sounded just like your parrot there." Sirius laughed.  
"That nearly made sense, Seph. Congratulations." James said as they turned back towards the castle.  
  
* * *  
  
Remus was waiting for Charlie and Sephine outside Professor Trugin's office later that day when a voice he'd hoped he'd never hear again whispered in his ear. "Hello again, Remus! I shan't waste time boasting about what fun we had last time - It may give you the opportunity to run away! Imperio!"  
  
* * *  
  
This time Remus woke up in his bed in the Gryffindor dormitories. He leapt from the bed, desperate to find out what had happened this time, yet not wanting to know at all.  
The Common Room was empty of first years, which was unusual for that time of day. Remus frowned more deeply and made his way through the corridors. He glanced at his watch briefly. He had absolutely no recollection of the last three hours.  
When he got to the main doors, he took a long look across the grounds. There appeared to be a large group of people around the Whomping Willow yet again.  
Remus ran to the crowd, but when he got there, his pace slowed considerably, and he took his time making his way to the front, having a feeling that this had something to do with Colonel Collins and the wolf.  
"Remus! Where have you been? Take a look at this! Someone's written loads on the Willow! Imagine how long they'd have had to keep dodging the branches to do that! And they didn't even say which house they were in as far as I know..." Lily's voice was full of excitement.  
Sephine was craning her neck and squinting at the trunk of the Willow. "I...I can't make it out..."  
Remus forced his gaze to the tree. "It...it goes right round the trunk!"  
"What does it say?" Paul Fevner came up behind him. "Can you read it, Remus?"  
"Um...It's part of the Sorting Hat's song as far as I know...'You might...belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart, Their dare- daring...nerve and chival...ry, Set Gryffindors...apart.'"  
"So a Gryffindor did this?" Martin seemed terribly excited.  
"No...There's more..." Remus said wonderingly. He began to walk around the tree, reading aloud as he went. His friends followed, listening attentively. "'You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffs are true, And unafraid of toil. Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, If you've a ready mind, Where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind. Or...perhaps in Slytherin, You'll make your real friends, Those cunning folk use any means, To achieve their ends...!' What in Knockturn Alley can it mean?" Remus asked.  
"Maybe it was someone who felt they'd been Sorted unfairly, and doesn't like the house they're in." Sephine whispered thoughtfully.  
Remus did a double take. "What?"  
"You know...like, they thought they were chivalrous and bold, and they were put in Slytherin or something..."  
"Wow, that's quite deep, Seph..." Remus said just as thoughtfully, surprised at such a comment coming from her.  
She shrugged it off. "I'm not in the 'wise' house for nothing!"  
They turned to go back to the warmth of the castle, the chill air just beginning to bite at exposed noses and ears. Remus thrust his hands deep in his pockets before his fingers got the opportunity to go pink, and nearly stopped moving when he felt Davey Gudgeon's Swiss Army Knife in his hand. 


	10. Halloween

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 10 - Hallow'een  
  
"Excuse me, Mr. Filch...?" Remus didn't know why he was standing outside the caretaker's office at seven o'clock on a Saturday Hallow'een morning. He knocked tentatively again. "Mr. Filch, are you there?"  
"Who is it?" Filch hissed.  
"Uh...my name's Remus Lupin. I'm a first year."  
"What do you want?" The door opened a crack, and Filch's already grizzled face peered out suspiciously.  
"I...I was just...um...wondering about those paintings that were damaged. Which ones were they? And will they be okay?"  
"Why do you care?"  
"Uhhh..." Remus hesitated - he hadn't thought this far ahead. "I-I love art. I really like looking at the pictures on the walls on the way to lessons, and...I have some favourites, and I hoped that they hadn't been...hurt..."  
Filch looked disgusted but convinced. "Very well. Don't fret yourself over them, though, they'll all repair nicely."  
He led Remus into his tiny office. Only a single candle on the untidy desk lighted it. One wall was lined with overflowing cabinets, marked with labels such as 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous' and 'Major Offenders and their Offences'. In one corner propped against the wall lay about twenty paintings, all as yet unattended to.  
Remus cautiously moved over to the paintings. He flicked through them as quickly as he could with his trembling hands and with Filch peering over his shoulder. The was a painting of Godric Gryffindor standing next to the Sorting Hat, and one of Salazar Slytherin too, but the others all appeared to be landscapes.  
"There's no connection between them at all." Filch growled. "How I'm supposed to find out which rat did this I don't know. It's just someone who enjoys mutilating other peoples' hard work apparently. Probably in Ravenclaw. A Hufflepuff wouldn't be smart enough..."  
Remus didn't agree with the caretaker's conclusions at all, but he kept his own opinions to himself. The connection between the landscapes was that they all contained a picture of the Full Moon in some way or another, from as a reflection in water, to as a faint Children's Moon in a clear blue sky. Plus, due to what Sephine had said yesterday at the Whomping Willow, Remus was inclined to believe that whoever did it - Colonel Collins. It wasn't me, it was him - was a reluctant member of Slytherin house, and thus hated the Sorting Hat and its creator also for putting him there.  
"Thank you, Mr. Filch. I hope they're all going to be okay." Remus said, to reinforce his earlier excuse for coming, and made his way quickly out of Filch's dark office.  
By the time he'd reached the Great Hall for breakfast, all his friends were already there tucking into a wide assortment of pumpkin- flavoured foods.  
"Hey, Rem', where you been?" Sirius asked around a goblet of pumpkin juice.  
"Just had to see Professor Binns about that History of Magic lesson I missed, that's all." Remus sat down on the bench next to Martin and began filling his plate with the assortment of wonderful foods on offer.  
"If this is what it's like at breakfast, God only knows what dinner will be like!" Lily exclaimed, spreading another piece of toast with pumpkin jam.  
"You seen this in the news, Rem'? It's totally ace!" James said, tossing a Daily Prophet across the table to Remus. He unfolded it, a mild curiosity the only thing he felt from James' excitement. 'HORRIBLE HOGSMEADE HAUNTING!' The headline proclaimed. Remus read on, his astonishment growing.  
  
'Last Monday night the inhabitants of the Wizarding town, Hogsmeade, were horrified to find that the mysterious old house on the edge of the town has  
recently become inhabited by ghosts! Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster, of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
was asked to comment on future student trips to Hogsmeade now that this startling event has occurred. When questioned about Monday night's events, he merely replied, "I have no idea if they are ghosts or not...it could be possible that some of our local spirits have taken up residence there, but  
we shall have to wait and see before jumping to hasty conclusions.  
Hogsmeade trips will continue as normal - I have had some rather tricky  
curses put in place to deter visitors."  
The locals, however, have no such reservations as to the source of the noises. One witch, who lives especially close to the haunted house, said this: "I have no doubt in my mind that the noises I heard that night were those of unquiet spirits. The sound was awful - screams, crashes, howls and just a general cacophony of destruction. I wouldn't be surprised if this  
became one of the most heavily haunted sites known in the world!" No noises have been heard since, but it has been observed by those brave enough to go near it, that many of the indoor shutters on the top floor of  
the house have been ripped clean out. This leads to suspicions that the  
trouble-causers may be unruly Hogwarts pupils or even some dangerous  
Magical creature.  
More local reports on page 5...'  
Remus didn't bother turning to page five - he'd read enough. "W...what do you suppose it is?" He asked faintly, staring without seeing at the table.  
"I hope it's ghosts!" Sirius was grinning from ear to ear, his blue eyes shining.  
"Of course it isn't ghosts!" Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly, Sirius, ghosts can't touch the world of the living - how could a ghost rip shutters off?"  
"No need to spoil my fun," he said sulkily. "And anyway, how does Peeves cause so much destruction then?"  
Lily didn't answer, but just buttered another piece of toast disapprovingly.  
"I think it's a lunatic or something - that Dumbledore's caught and imprisoned in the house, and now the lunie is trying to get out!" Martin pulled a face of what he thought was an angry lunatic's expression.  
Peter spoke up, quite bravely, "I reckon it was just some creature from the Forest that got trapped in there for a night, and didn't find its way out until morning, when there was light."  
"Oh, Peter, you're such a bore!" James laughed.  
"Well I agree with Peter!" Lily said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and causing him to turn an interesting shade of crimson.  
"What do you think, Remus?" Sirius asked. "You know you've gotta say ghosts..."  
Remus managed a grin. "Yeah, I've gotta say ghosts, but I'm not. I think it a pet of Hagrid's, the gamekeeper. I've heard he loves to keep huge, dangerous beasts."  
Sirius threw up his arms in indignation. "Well at least James agrees with me!"  
"Actually, I quite like Rem's idea..." They all laughed at Sirius' expression.  
Getting up from the table to go back to the common room, the Gryffindors noticed Trurn and his friends standing at the end of the aisle between tables. They appeared to be waiting for something.  
Suspicious, the Gryffindors moved slowly towards them - they were standing in front if the exit. As they walked, Remus felt something odd and lumpy slide down his right sweater sleeve. As he reached over with his left hand to feel what it was, Peter, who had been walking behind him, slipped on a large gob of pumpkin jam that had been left on the floor 'accidentally' by the Slytherins. Peter's fall had a domino effect on Remus, who was sent sprawling forwards. His arms whipped out to break his fall, and from his sleeve shot the lumpy object.  
Trurn Mahbism - the only Slytherin who'd managed not to double over with laughter - stuck his foot out and stopped the object's slide with it. The object was Davey Gudgeon's Swiss Army Knife. Remus had forgotten that he'd hastily wrapped it in one of his weekend sweaters after finding it in his pocket.  
The Gryffindors' cries of concern ceased, as did the laughter of the Slytherins. Remus pushed himself up off the floor; not taking his eyes from Trurn's as he did. Mahbism's expression had been one of complete and utter disbelief - the disbelief of a child who'd just got the most wondrous, amazing Christmas present - now, a terrible smile snuck onto it.  
"Remus...you carved that song onto the Whomping Willow...! Why didn't you tell anyone? You could have become a star! A hero!"  
"He still could!" James said, his voice was full of awe, yet defiance, as he stepped to his friend's side.  
"Oh no..." Trurn put on a mock pitying face. "I'm afraid not...you planned to keep this little treasure for yourself, didn't you, Remus? That makes you a thief! You'll still be a star, but people will hate you now, Remus..."  
"What the--" (Martin said a word that made Lily gasp and the Slytherins snigger)"--are you talking about, you freak? The Willow was only carved yesterday; Remus was probably just going now to look for Davey! Right, Rem'?" Martin looked at him.  
All Remus could do was nod. What was he going to tell them about why he hadn't told them?  
Luke Rosier moved to stand next to Trurn. He folded his arms and said, "Oh I think we can do that for you now, Lupin. We don't mind taking Gudgeon his present back to him. We'll let him know exactly...how it was found..."  
"Yeah, and take all the credit yourself!" Sirius bellowed, thundering past Peter and Lily to stand on Remus' right. His hands were clenched into fists and Remus could see they were shaking.  
"Credit for delaying the return of his precious knife? I think not." Rosier sneered. "Davey Gudgeon will know the truth, Black, I assure you."  
With a roar, Sirius threw himself at the Slytherins, James and Martin leaping after him. Remus stood, rooted to the spot, as Lily and Peter pleaded desperately for the whole lot of them to stop. Trurn hadn't moved either.  
"Fetch," he mouthed over the shouts of the brawlers as he sent the knife skidding along the stone floor of the Great Hall. It stopped right underneath the Hufflepuff table, where Davey Gudgeon (completely healed - he hadn't lost the eye) and his friends had just sat down to their breakfast, and were avidly watching the fight.  
Remus thought of just running right past Trurn, and the fight, and going to live a hermit's life in the house in Hogsmeade until this was all forgotten, or he woke from the nightmare.  
As though reading these thoughts, Trurn's smirk widened. "Surely you're not just going to leave it there, Remus...?"  
Remus shot the boy a terrible glare, and stalked over to the Hufflepuffs. "Hey, Davey," he muttered. "Your eye okay now?"  
Davey looked up in surprise. "Yeah, it's fine, thanks for asking. Remus, isn't it?"  
Remus nodded. "Yeah. Look, Davey, I just glanced over, and saw this glint under your table - I think it might be your pocket knife - I saw it a little more clearly as I came near."  
The boy's eyes widened in astonishment. He ducked under the table for a second, and came up looking completely flabbergasted. "Gosh, you're right!" He went back down to fetch it, and after resurfacing for the second time, examined it closely. "That's very odd...how did it get there?" He mused.  
"Maybe it was in one of your pockets all the time," Remus suggested, choosing that moment to take his leave but followed by Davey's curious stare.  
His friends had just about finished their scrap with Rosier and company when he got back to them - they were preparing to make their exits too. As the group of six raced down the corridor, pursued a short way by the Slytherins, Sirius panted to Remus, "How come you weren't helping? We were fighting on your behalf!"  
"I was returning Davey's knife."  
"And why didn't you tell us, Remus?" Lily asked him.  
"I...don't know..."How lame an excuse was that?  
"What?" Martin shouted as they slowed to a walk.  
"It's complicated." Remus managed to mumble.  
"Don't you trust us?" James queried, experimentally poking the bruise coming up on his chin.  
They were approaching the huge staircase system of Hogwarts. Remus saw one nearby begin to swing away, and leapt onto it. "I've got to go and see Professor Binns about the History of Magic work I missed!" He said evasively.  
As the staircase swung away from his friends, he heard Lily say, "I thought he'd just done that, and that's why he was late to breakfast...?"  
Remus swore at himself as the staircase began to rise - he'd forgotten he'd already used that excuse. The lies were already beginning to get out of hand.  
He leant heavily on the banister and slid down to sit on the stair. His eyes were prickling - he'd finally made himself some friends, and already he was feeling he couldn't keep them. If he told them they'd leave him, but if he carried on lying, they would still leave him. Curled into a ball of self-pity, Remus didn't notice the movement of the staircase stop. In fact, he must have been curled up very small, because the next person to use the stairs didn't have a clue he was there.  
Down the stone steps came a hurried pattering, light, dainty but definitely hurried. A girl's voice muttered, "Dratted stairs, why can't you move when I need you to for a change?"  
"I saw you, you little minx!" Argus Filch's voice and the meow of his cat, Mrs. Norris, drifted out of the corridor at the top of the stairs.  
"Oh!" The voice of the girl exclaimed. Remus knew she had seen him, and opened his eyes a little. Sephine Winters lowered herself into a crouch next to the banister opposite him. "Remus, what on earth are you doing here?"  
He gave a quiet snort of laughter. "I needed to be alone for a bit."  
"Oh, don't mind me - I'm not here!" Sephine said with a wicked grin.  
"What did you do?" Remus asked, his curiosity awakened despite himself.  
"Umm...I was trying to unlock the room where Charlie's been stationed on 'non-magic dust patrol' when Mrs. Norris snuck up on me. I er, gave her a colossal boot up the behind and she went yowling for Filch..."  
Remus hand to use both hands to smother his laughter. Sephine just watched, a rueful smile dancing on her lips.  
"Ooh, you'll pay for this one, Winters!" Filch stormed. He had reached the top of the stairs.  
Sephine cursed and scanned the steps for any sign of help. Her eyes fell upon the hole where a block of stone was missing. Her breathing was harsh and ragged with adrenaline as she inched towards it.  
"Sephine! What the heck are you doing?" Remus murmured pointedly as Filch began to descend the stairs, and Sephine peeked down the hole.  
She swore again. "I'm afraid of heights!" she said in a strangled voice. "You have no idea how stupid that is in my situation!" and she squirmed through the hole, feet first, until only her fingers were left visible, gripping to the edge for dear life. When those vanished too, Remus jumped in terror, but couldn't cry out, as Filch had reached him.  
"Remus Lupin...the boy who likes art..." Filch looked down at him. "Did you see a girl come this way just a moment before me?"  
"N-no..." Remus shook his head, then nodded it. "No-Yes! I did! She went down that corridor straight ahead!"  
Filch eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds and Remus squirmed. "Right. You'd better not be concealing her, young Lupin, 'cause I happen to know she's one of your pals...No...you'd better not be..." And he stormed away down the stairs, unconsciously missing out the gap where Sephine had vanished.  
As soon as he was out of sight, Remus scrambled to the hole. "Sephine?" He called urgently. "Sephine are you okay?"  
The tightly gripping fingers reappeared, and she swung out from under the stairs. She looked up at him; her face was white as a sheet. "Remus, give me your hand, quick, there's no way I can hold on any more - I need to lose weight!" She laughed rather nervously as he pulled her out.  
She was breathing so fast he thought she was about to hyperventilate or some sort of thing, but there was excitement in the blue eyes. "God...that was a bit close...thanks!"  
"You...are mental." Remus shook his head.  
She grinned. "C'mon - will you help me try and free Charlie?"  
"Might as well. It sure beats cowering on a staircase." Remus followed her to the locked door she'd spoken of.  
"What's the opening charm? Hello-ha-shirt or something?" Sephine asked, frustration plain on her face.  
Remus smiled at her version of the charm, and brandished his wand at the lock. "Alohomora!" He commanded.  
"...That's the one...!" She gaped as the door swung open  
Sephine, Charlie and Remus raced from the corridor, being careful, though, to re-lock the door when they left. 


	11. Explanation

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 11 - Explanation  
  
Remus avoided his fellow Gryffindors for the rest of the day, trying to work up excuses or reasons as to why he'd been avoiding them, and as to why he hadn't told them...why he couldn't trust them... However, he could no longer put the meeting off when a special bell sounded to announce the Hallow'een Feast.  
Sheepishly he joined the crowd of students and staff filing into the Hall through the main doors, keeping his head down to avoid unwanted attention. The one time he looked up, he looked up to see Dumbledore's terribly serious gaze on him. And he knew from the grave expression that had replaced the jovial one that Dumbledore knew, or guessed, that Remus had been the one causing all the trouble.  
He slipped onto the end of the Gryffindor table, next to Peter and opposite Sirius. Their expressions were as grim as Dumbledore's.  
The general banter and excitement of the students was quelled when the Headmaster stood up slowly and tapped his gold spoon on the crystal goblet in front of him. "Before we begin, I have a very serious issue to address. As you all know, quite recently, some paintings have been vandalised, as has the school's new Whomping Willow. We believe that these incidents are related, and also we think we have an idea of who has been disrupting our peaceful term."  
Remus cringed and looked intently at the empty plate before him. His mouth was dry; he was sure Dubledore was about to expose him to the whole school in one way or another.  
"Therefore," the old wizard continued. "I shall not trouble you further on that subject, but I would like to express my extreme disappointment in you all. I had expected a far more mature treatment of something so dangerous as a Whomping Willow. From now on, expulsion will be the only option to those who go near it, and barrier spells will be put around it to further discourage the more foolish of you. That is all. Now you may enjoy yourselves - happy Hallow'een!"  
As the pumpkin-themed feast appeared before them, Remus couldn't force his eyes or head to raise. He could feel the eyes of those who had so recently considered him a friend all fixed upon him. Sirius was the first to speak. "I've just got one question I want you to answer for me, Rem'; Why?"  
Slowly, painfully, Remus lifted his head, then his eyes to Sirius' face. The expression of torment twisting his features shocked Sirius, who put his knife and fork down with a little clatter. "It can wait." He said hoarsely.  
"Thanks." Remus whispered, shakily pouring himself a goblet of pumpkin juice, all the time aware that their eyes still hadn't left him. And wouldn't until they got answers.  
  
* * *  
  
The meal seemed to last ten times longer than it actually did to the group of Gryffindors at the end of the table, whether because they were waiting for answers or dreading giving them. Their silence however, wasn't noticed by many due to the novelty of the food that night - everyone was mostly intent on eating as much as possible.  
As the school started leaving the hall (a lot more slowly than they'd come in) Remus wondered if he'd be able to lose himself in the crowd and sneak away to somewhere where questions wouldn't be asked. This was proved impossible though, when he saw Lily and James walking to his right, Sirius to his left, Martin behind him and Peter in front. He almost laughed then - it was like they'd expected him to try and sneak off. Just proves how I've lost their trust. He thought ruefully, feeling like a criminal being marched to his death.  
Upon entering the Gryffindor common room (still mostly empty) James motioned for Remus to go up the steps to the dorm. Lily approached him then and said, "James, I can't go in the boys' dorm!"  
"Course you can Evans...if you don't mind, Rem'?" Remus shook his head absent-mindedly. "I know it really seems like we're forcing you into this, but it's just coz we're worried. If you don't want to tell us we don't mind."  
Remus looked up at him. Behind his round glasses and the strands of hair, James' expression definitely qualified as a worried one. Remus sighed. "Somehow, James, I think you guys would mind if I didn't tell you. And...and I'm guessing it'd bug me too."  
As they filed up the stairs Remus had a sudden stupid urge to burst out laughing - it all seemed so ridiculous! Mere minutes ago he had been desperate for a way out of the upcoming conversation, but just now, the opportunity had been given to him to escape.and he had refused it. Why did I do that?  
He was already regretting the decision as he followed Sirius through the door to the dorm. He sat down heavily on the end of Peter's bed, facing Sirius, who leaned on the foot of James'. The others arranged themselves on either side of Sirius, all looking embarrassed and awkward. James opened his mouth to say something, stopped and turned around to Remus' bunk, picking something up off it. He turned to face Remus, a wolf- skin cape in his hands, complete with stuffed head and yellow glass eyes. Again he hesitated before speaking, a frown troubling his forehead. "I.we. Peter found this on your bed. After.after you ran off today. It's the one that everyone said the, ah, vandal.um. Yeah. That you wore, right?" Remus stared at the lifeless eyes and gaping mouth, the lacquered tongue and stained teeth. He shrugged. "So I'm told." "So you're told?" Lily repeated, her frown mirroring James'. Remus took a deep breath and let it out in a tired sigh. "I don't remember anything of what happened when I.did those things. Because it wasn't me." The small room burst into noise, exclamations of frustration and confusion being vented by Martin and Sirius especially, who were generally the most hot-headed of the group. "Remus, how can you lie to us so blatantly?" Sirius asked, raking his hands through his hair. "Okay, let me explain! Do you want me to explain?" "Yes!" Lily assured, before Sirius could make another inappropriate comment. "There was this painting I saw on the way to Defence Against the Dark Arts once. It. It interested me. And later I saw it in one of those weird back corridors the stairs dump you on at times." They were all listening attentively, but Remus couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt with every word whilst he knew that they listened to only half-truths. He was determined to keep his big secret from them yet. ".And er the painting was of this weird guy who-who was a--" It's okay - I'm talking about Colonel Collins, not me. "He said he was a werewolf." Remus tried to scoff at this, but his voice quivered slightly. "And then he took out his wand and said this curse, and I don't remember anything that happened whilst I was cursed. I only know I woke up in places, and everyone's talking about the awful stuff that's just happened!" His voice had risen despite his best efforts over this last speech and he felt the corners of his eyes begin to prickle. Lily gasped. "That sounds just like the Imperious Curse! That's one of the Unforgivable Curses!" "Well I wouldn't go that far!" Martin exclaimed. "I can forgive him if he didn't know what he was up to!" "No!" Lily sounded exasperated. "It means that the person who performs the curse is unforgivable." "Oh." Martin didn't sound too interested. "How come you didn't tell Dumbledore or someone?" James asked thoughtfully. "I.guess I blamed myself. I thought he'd be angry." Once more he had control of his voice and his emotions. "But you just said you didn't do it." Peter piped up. "So how could you blame yourself?" Remus fidgeted a little and plucked at the red velvet bed throw he was sitting on. "I.uh must have thought I was weak for succumbing to the curse or stupid for getting wound up with this idiot picture." "I still don't understand how a painting could perform a curse." Lily said. "Me either." Remus said warily. It would be typical if they didn't believe the one bit that was true. He thought ruefully. "Why don't you show us the pic?" Sirius suggested. "Surely it can't curse us all. Maybe we could research the curse too, try and find ways of overcoming it." "I think you should just go to Dumbledore." Peter said. "I agree with Peter. This could be really serious." Lily assented. "He said he had a suspect anyway." Remus said quickly. "He'll probably come to me!" Sirius, James and Martin agreed with Remus, so Lily and Peter had to be satisfied for the time being with this compromise. In the end, as Lily left the room and later as Remus curled into his sheets, he felt that he was very lucky to have completed the day with all friendships still intact. He could almost forget the particulars that he had not mentioned, so sunny was his disposition at the time James put the last candle in the dorm out on Hallow'een night. 


	12. Crime and Punishment

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 12 - Crime and Punishment  
  
The next morning it seemed that a couple of very foolish Ravenclaws had attempted to go trick or treating around the staff dormitories last night, and many of the teachers were unimpressed at having their slumber interrupted by a 'Dementor' and a 'Banshee'. Charlie and Sephine were on night detention with Hagrid, but they seemed to think it had been worth it. Charlie because he'd got to see Professor McGonagall in her night gown and Sephine because she'd got to see (and photograph) Professor Trugin in his night cap and face mask.  
At Sunday breakfast Remus received a discreet owl post from Dumbledore informing him of the Headmaster's 'desire to have a talk with him after breakfast'. Lily and Peters' senses of justice were satisfied with this, as were James, Sirius and Martins' senses of boyish pride. Insisting he'd rather go alone, Remus wandered up the corridor he'd been instructed to head for and gazed distractedly out of the windows as he neared the gargoyle at the dead end of the passage. Movement on a previously still panting of fruit on the wall to his right caught his attention. To his great dismay Colonel Collins leapt from behind the pear. He was barely halfway to the gargoyle and Collins was already drawing his wand. "Think you're going to tell Head-teacher do you?" Remus grimaced and turned away, starting to sprint down the corridor. As he ran, Collins followed him closely, travelling from picture to picture, cackling maniacally as he did so. Remus slammed his palms into the wall to save his nose from doing it, and with the help of momentum shoved back off the wall. He drew his own wand and studied the stone and the statue anxiously, aware that Collins was fast approaching. "Alohamora!" Nothing happened. "AlohamORA!" Nothing. "Imperio!" This spell did work.  
  
* * *  
  
When Remus woke up on this occasion, he was under a bed. He wasn't in his dorm; he could tell that easily as he lay very still, listening hard. He could smell girls' perfume, and the bed-sheets hanging untidily off to one side of the bed were pink, not blue. What on earth did Collins have me doing in here? He wondered incredulously.  
  
Remus was just about to squirm out from the dusty space when the door flew open with some force. It banged off the wall, swinging back on its hinges before being slammed shut behind the heavy and angry steps that had entered. A familiar voice shouted, "bloody Charlie! How could he do that? He was just jealous, 'cause I'd remembered to take my camera! Now it's confiscated, too I'll bet!"  
Sephine threw her trunk lid open and hurled items of clothing out all over the floor. She heaved a sigh of relief, and Remus assumed that she'd found her camera. Not bothering to tidy the mess, she kicked the trunk hard and the lid fell closed. She stormed out of the room again.  
Remus inched out from under the bed. It was obvious Sephine had this room to herself - she didn't take too much care about its tidiness, although it was relatively clean.  
After dusting himself down, Remus noticed something he hadn't whilst being under the bed; She had dropped some pieces of paper as she came in. They were torn on one edge, as though she had ripped them down off something.  
Remus picked them up and turned them over. They were normal Muggle photos - not moving Wizard ones - but they showed a surprised and angry Professor Trugin flailing about in bed complete with face pack and striped night-cap. Considering Sephine had taken the photos, Remus decided that the image of her smiling head peeking out from under Trugin's sheets had to be magically added.  
Despite being able to see how Sephine could be so angry, Remus had to restrain a snigger. He placed the photos back as he found them and peeked around the door. Down in the Ravenclaw Common Room they'd obviously seen the pictures too.  
Remus then hurried to the window. Unfortunately for that plan of escape, Ravenclaw had a t0wer like Gryffindor, and Remus didn't think it a good idea to leap from a 10th floor window - no matter how fed up he got with Colonel Collins.  
Then, something caught his eye. Charmed to stay there, under the windowsill was a broomstick. A broomstick which first years weren't supposed to have. Remus drew his wand and without thinking, performed a spell to free the broom. It wasn't until he was sitting with a leg outside the window, gripping the broom with his right arm and leaning over it, that Remus suddenly remembered the creature. The Snitch almost looked silver in the light, or platinum. And the beasts' eyes looked like two full, round moons . He shuddered violently and felt himself slip a little. His left arm swung out to grab at the broom, and he found himself swinging by his arms from the broomstick, still 10 floors up.  
Remus froze. He could feel the chill November wind cool the cold sweat on his forehead further. He couldn't move; he stared fixedly at the ground - So far away! He marvelled.  
A sharp bang brought him to his senses - It was just the window hitting the frame as the wind caught it too, but for a moment he'd thought Sephine was back. It was enough anyway to encourage him to swing his leg up and over the broom and tentatively fly it round to the Gryffindor Tower. He wasn't surprised to find James, Sirius, Peter, Lily and Martin sitting in there. He rapped on the window and was rewarded with expressions of surprise that would have been comical in other circumstances. After explaining to them, he then demanded to know what he had been forced to do this time. It was with difficulty that the account was presented to him in a serious manner - the photos of Sephine and Trugin were, of course, absolutely hilarious if you didn't know who had done them or why. "I think you should apologise to Sephine." Lily suggested. "Wha-at?" Martin exclaimed. "God knows what she'd do to you if you told her it was you! Plus, it's gonna be funny watching her tear Charlie to pieces when she finds him!" Lily didn't press the point, seeing that no one else was with her on this one. "But if Charlie didn't do it, then why is he hiding?" Remus asked. "He knows she'll automatically blame him." Sirius said with a smirk. Just then there was a sharp knock on the door and Professor McGonagall strode in. She stopped abruptly upon seeing the group, and looked in shock at Lily. "Lillian Evans! What are you doing in the boys' dormitory?" Lily seemed a little surprised at this question. "I was talking with my friends." "Get out of here! You can talk to them in your house Common Room if you choose! Girls should not spend their Sundays in boys' dormitories!" The young Professor seemed quite flustered and embarrassed. When Lily had left, casting a bemused look behind her, McGonagall turned to the boys. "Now. Remus Lupin? Professor Dumbledore urgently needs to speak with you. Follow me please." And she strode out again. Remus obediently followed her, looking back once to see Sirius give him the thumbs up sign and a cheery grin. This time, although Remus thought he saw something move in a painting, Colonel Collins was wise enough to stay away - he wasn't going to mess with a Professor. When they got to the gargoyle, Remus watched with interest to see what spell McGonagall would perform. He was disappointed however; all she did was say "Pepper imps," in a slightly disapproving tone. But then to his great astonishment and delight, the gargoyle jumped up and moved to one side, revealing a green granite staircase revolving silently upwards. At the top, the heavy oak door was already open. As Remus stepped into Dumbledore's office after McGonagall, he saw the wizard standing by his window talking to two huge flame-coloured birds. He looked up at the boy as he came in and then turned back to the phoenixes. "Fawkes, why don't you take your new friend for a tour of Hogwarts, eh?" The phoenix that hadn't been addressed gave a small shriek of what sounded to Remus to be alarm. Dumbledore hesitated in the act of opening the window. "Hmm. I forgot about that, I apologise. All right, I'll let you two chat for a bit in the next room. Maybe you could learn a bit from Fawkes.?" Remus swore he saw that phoenix raise a golden eyebrow at this, but couldn't be sure. Dumbledore pulled a painting on the wall out, unveiling a dark stone passage just big enough for the phoenixes to scrabble down. Remus could hear the tapping of their claws on the stone receding even as Dumbledore swung the painting back. Now he turned to McGonagall and Remus. Remus noted that McGonagall was looking at Dumbledore with a terribly shocked expression. She gathered herself together, though, and turned and left them alone. He swore he heard her mutter, "It'll be a while before I get used to this." as she swished out, head bowed slightly. "Hello, Remus." Dumbledore said kindly, drawing attention back to himself. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Um. yeah." Remus was surprised he'd been asked this - he'd expected to have been told immediately how much trouble he was in and how long he was going to be suspended for or when his expulsion would take force. But Dumbledore just smiled sadly and invited him to sit down in the big padded- leather chair opposite the Headmaster. "Remus, I would like to stress here that you are not in trouble. I want to find out what the problem is, so that we can work out a solution." Deja vu flashed through Remus' head. He felt exactly as he had done the last time that they'd met - before school - to sort out the previous problem. Remus sighed. He suddenly felt home sick. He remembered their little house in Manchester, and all the other kids: the children of his father's work-mates. He remembered his mother. Although she'd been stressed there, they'd all been happier there than they had been since. Well apart from the three weeks or so they'd spent in peace at Hogsmeade. But Remus couldn't remember that place as a place of peace anymore. Dumbledore was still sitting patiently, waiting for him to begin his tale, or at least make some excuse. Remus yet again fought the threatening tears bitterly and angrily. He would not cry, he would not. And yet again, his emotions were quelled for the time being, forced to build up more and more. Finally, he began his tale. He told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Dumbledore listened quietly and patiently. He didn't interrupt, but whenever Remus spoke of Colonel Collins the old wizard's expression became dark. When he'd finally finished his tale, Remus sat watching the Headmaster's expression for any sign of anger, or any sign of, well. anything. But Dumbledore just leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled under his chin, and a distracted look in the depths of his eyes. "Very good, Remus. I'm terribly sorry this had to happen to you, and so soon into your first term here. Colonel Collins will be. dealt with, and if you don't mind, I'm sure Professor Trugin would like his wolf-skin cloak back-" Remus gulped. "And before you leave, Remus," Dumbledore added quietly as Remus rose from his seat, "is there anything else you want to talk about?" Remus instantly thought of the half-truths that he'd told his friends; the trouble he knew he would have in convincing them why he had to leave school regularly for only a night and a morning; Sephine and Charlie's ignorance of even the white-lies he's told his fellow Gryffindors. He shook his head. "No, sir, thank you." And he opened the shiny oak door and stepped onto the now downwards-revolving staircase. 


	13. Potions and Pranks

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 13 - Potions and Pranks  
  
It was the third week of November, and the dungeons were freezing. Lily poked the lumpy potion that she, Sephine, Charlie and Remus had concocted with a copper ladle. It was supposed to be a very thin, dull red forgetfulness potion, but it had turned out brown and sludgy. "Do you think it's 'cause of the cold down here?" Charlie mused whilst peering at it and jumping back as a huge, slimy bubble emerged on the surface near his nose. "Maybe it's going solid. freezing?" Sephine was sitting at the table nearby, her hand propped under her chin and her eyelids drooping. She yawned and glanced down at the instruction sheet in front of her. "Must be something like that. We did everything right, didn't we?" At that moment, Professor Trugin (who had thoroughly despised Sephine - even more - since the incident with the photos a couple of weeks ago) sneered over their cauldron. "I don't think that you can have done it right, Miss Winters, as your potion should definitely not look like this. Perhaps we should see what type of brew you have created by feeding your dear friend Mr. Cookson some of it?" "Go ahead." Sephine retorted without missing a beat. "I couldn't care less what you feed him." "Maybe. Mr. Lupin then?" Trugin turned his sneer on Remus, who stepped away from the Professor with a thinly veiled expression of disgust. Sephine glanced wildly at Remus for a moment, then lifted her chin. "No, I wanna see what it'll do to Charlie." Trugin smirked. "Five points from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor for this abysmal mess." He gestured to the now frequently bubbling goo. "Plus another ten from Ravenclaw, for Miss Winters'. unfeeling attitude." Sephine smiled angelically at him, but as soon as his back was turned, her face fell into a scowl and she muttered something to herself about 'unfeeling attitudes'. Charlie turned to her. "Sephine, I am so glad he didn't take you seriously," he shook his head. "Yeah, well, you'd better empty the cauldron before he changes his mind." She snorted. As Lily and Charlie hauled the bubbling mess away, Remus began to wipe the table, trying to get splashes of the substance off it. As he leaned closer though, to see why the splashes weren't coming off, he gave a shout of amazement. "Sephine! Quick tell them not to throw it out!" "Huh?" She asked, but it was apparently a rhetorical question, as she was already grabbing the back of Charlie's cloak. "Whassup, Rem'?" "Look!" He called excitedly, beckoning her, Charlie and Lily - who still had the cauldron - over. "Cool!" Charlie exclaimed. "How on earth could that have come from a forgetfulness potion?" Lily wondered aloud. Sephine grinned, delighted. "The table's forgotten what colour it should be!" Sure enough, where the potion had landed, the table was gradually gaining transparency, and within minutes they could see the damp stone floor right through the wood. They all jumped guiltily when Sirius flopped down heavily at the table behind them. "What's so interesting?" He asked mildly.  
  
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"I think, we should tip a load over Filch's door - see what he keeps in his office." Charlie was saying. They'd smuggled most of the potion out of the classroom in their glass specimen vials, and now James, Remus, Sirius, Peter (who'd walked in on them by accident), Lily, Sephine, Charlie and Martin all sat in a dark broom cupboard plotting ways of using the potion. "If you do anything with this, you're bound to see the inside of Filch's office anyway!" Lily scolded him. "And are you sure you all want to go around throwing this at people? We don't know if there are side effects! And you'll be permanently monitored by Filch for the rest of your time at Hogwarts!" Sirius waved a hand as if sweeping Lily's words away. "We've checked, haven't we? The table isn't deformed or anything-" "I'm talking about people, Sirius." "Honestly, Lily! If we use it on a plank like Severus Snape, it's not going to be much different from the table is it?" Lily glared at him, "what? What on earth would make you want to attack Snape?" "How about that git, Malfoy?" Martin suggested, carefully trying to steer the conversation in another direction. "You know, the second year?" "Great!" Charlie said in wonderment. "Absolutely brilliant!" "But how do we get them covered?" James asked. "If we just get it on their robes, then they'll still feel like their wearing the robes, but everyone else will know otherwise." "Quidditch." Sephine muttered. "What?" Sirius turned to her. "Quidditch," she repeated. "Malfoy's the Slytherin Seeker. We could get something gold and glinty. shine it about in a match so he thinks it's a Snitch. and someone on a seat above can-" "Drench him!" Charlie laughed joyfully. "Classic." Sirius grinned. "And Snape?" "Fill a goblet with it at breakfast," James said slowly. "And trip into him." Lily shot emerald darts at him from her eyes, but the others had all began to laugh madly, and people passing the cupboard walked as far away from it as possible, fearing that Peeves the poltergeist was within.  
  
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At the end of a very productive plot-planning day, Remus, Sirius, James, Peter and Martin flopped into the dormitories and flung themselves into bed. Just as Remus felt himself slipping into that wonderful land between sleep and wakefulness, Sirius' voice asked from across the room, "So did anyone see that picture today?" When Remus had told them about what Dumbledore had said, Sirius' curiosity had been roused by the headmaster's vague descriptions of what would become of Colonel Collins. He'd told everyone that they should keep an eye out for the painting and try to find out what had happened. Remus - who hadn't thought it was a brilliant idea at all - agreed with Sirius to shut him up, but hadn't even thought about looking for Collins since. "No, couldn't find him." He muttered. The others each told Sirius sleepily that they hadn't seen it either, and Peter added blearily that Sirius should just forget about it and go to sleep. Sirius made a sort of 'humph' noise and no one carried the conversation further for a few minutes. Then James asked, "Remus, when are you going to give Trugin his cloak back?" "Uhh.I don't know." "Shall we get it over and done with tomorrow? We've got potions last thing." Sirius sighed. "Potions last thing. After having it today, too. Isn't it the big one on Fridays? The crossover with the Slytherins? Someone out there must really hate us." "I'll leave it under my table or something." Remus mumbled into his pillow. "Throw it in his cauldron." Martin sounded as fed up as Remus about being kept awake. "Good idea! Why don't you-" "Sirius." "What?" "Please just go to sleep."  
  
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Severus Snape was walking across the Entrance Hall alone when Sirius Black raced out of the Great Hall, a goblet of orange juice held out in front of him. He hurtled into Snape and the juice miraculously didn't cover them both. However, Snape was left wiping his robes in annoyance as Sirius ran off apologising profusely. Snape didn't know why everyone had turned to look at him when he entered the hall for breakfast, but he thought it was good at first; it was nice to get some attention for a change. Then they started laughing. It began with the Gryffindors. Then the Ravenclaws caught on. Then the Hufflepuffs. Even his own house was laughing at him. "Get those robes for your birthday, Snape?" Charlie Cookson chortled as Snape passed the Ravenclaw table. "Coz they look remarkably like a birthday suit!" Snape looked down. His robes.weren't there. Every strand of material that had got Sirius' pumpkin juice on it was now invisible. His pale cheeks turned an odd shade of pink and he automatically grabbed for the robes that he could feel on him. But they were still invisible. Snape gave a cry of horror and ran from the hall. Sephine Winters then stood up on her seat and held her camera in the air. "Photos available from the first of December! Five sickles a copy!" She and Charlie hurried to catch up with the Gryffindors as they left the hall. "Perfect!" Sephine laughed, throwing one arm around Lily's tense and angry shoulders and one around Charlie's, which were heaving with laughter. "Hope it goes as well at the Quidditch match tomorrow." "Yeah, just make sure you don't attract the Gryffindor Seeker's attention too," Lily warned sulkily. "Can't wait for double potions later, though." Peter grimaced.  
  
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Remus fidgeted. This time it wasn't because of Trugin's glare, but because of the very uncomfortable wolf-skin cloak he was sitting on. They'd doused it in the invisibility potion, and he was going to casually leave it somewhere for Trugin to find it when the effects wore off. First, though, he had to remember where it was throughout the practical that they were doing. "Lupin, why aren't you helping Mr. Potter with his antiseptic potion?" Remus tried not to look too guilty. "I'm writing notes whilst James watches the cauldron. We're going to swap over soon." Trugin scowled. "Very well. But see to it that you do swap over. Or you will find yourself re-writing those notes several more times in detention." True to his word, Remus got up - slowly - he kept one hand on the cloak on his bench. He could feel the fur between his fingers as his picked it up. Because it was invisible - not an invisibility cloak - Remus could throw it over his shoulders and have no one notice. He could feel its reassuring weight as he leant over the cauldron and for once thought that this plan might work. He picked up a ladle full of the yellow liquid and looked at James querulously. James shrugged and pushed his glasses up his nose. He didn't know what it was supposed to look like either. "You call that a potion, Lupin?" Trurn Mahbism - all five foot seven of him - was towering over Remus and his cauldron. "That looks more like the cause of an illness than the cure." Trurn brought a hand out of his pocket and uncorked a vial of blue liquid. "Let me help," and before Remus or James could do anything, he poured the blue liquid into their cauldron and disappeared very quickly. The potion was now a sickly green, and was bubbling and frothing angrily. Remus and James dived behind their desk. "What did he put in?" James asked, panic clear in his voice. "I don't know! But knowing Trurn it can't be good!" Then with an almighty bang, the cauldron imploded before spectacularly reversing and exploding. James and Remus found themselves sprawled on the floor a couple of meters from the table they'd been hiding behind. A blob of pewter was all that remained of the cauldron. Then a hand on each shoulder drew them to their feet. "WHAT do you think you are playing at?" "Er.oops?" James suggested, trying to flick his hair out of his eyes. Trugin looked to Remus. "Uhh. it went wrong." He knew that no story incriminating a Slytherin would be believed in this classroom. "I saw that, Lupin. Why did it 'go wrong'?" Trugin's grip on his shoulder actually hurt now, it was so strong. "Cause I'm no good at potions? Ouch!" Trugin's fingernails were now biting his collarbone. "That was perhaps one reason. But the only way an explosion like that could occur is if certain ingredients are used. Certain ingredients which are only found in MY PRIVATE STORES! So tell me. What were you doing in them?" "What!" James exclaimed. "We don't even know where your private stores are, sir! Maybe someone slipped something in the potion when we weren't looking!" Trugin ground his teeth. "But why weren't you looking? The development of a potion must always be monitored! Fifty points from Gryffindor. Each. Clean this mess up." He let go of them with a hard shove and stalked away, leaving the Slytherins to snigger indiscreetly. James straightened his robes with a shrug. "Jeez. Anyone'd think it was his boxer shorts we'd exploded." Remus snorted as he scraped up the lump of pewter formerly known as a cauldron. Then he stopped. Something was missing. "James!" He hissed. "What?" "The cloak! I've lost it!" "You what?" James spun round and fell to his knees, searching the floor where they'd landed. A Slytherin walking past tripped on something and looked down. Avery couldn't see anything - neither could James or Remus - but he could feel the fur of the cloak as he ran his fingers along the floor. "Hey, Trurn! Luke! Come take a look at this!" James and Remus exchanged panicked glances. Remus whispered, "Don't get involved! Leave it to me." "Well this just feels so much like a wolf-skin cloak." Rosier cast a snide look Remus' way. Quietly, Trurn asked, "Didn't the picture vandal wear one like this? I believe he did." "And Lupin was the vandal." Avery smirked. All three boys were now looking at Remus, who was still kneeling by the cauldron stand. "Hiding the Professor's cloak from him now, Lupin?" Trurn asked. "Dear, dear. First Gudgeon's knife now Trugin's cloak. You're becoming a bit of a hoarder, Lupin," Trurn's mouth twisted a little. Remus thought it must have been his version of a smile. "Are you building a collection?" Rosier and Avery sniggered trollishly. James looked ready to step in, so Remus said, "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't see any cloak." "Nice try. We-" "What's going on? You aren't causing more trouble are you, Lupin?" Trugin looked like a huge vulture peering over Trurn's shoulder. The Slytherin boy didn't miss his chance. "Sir, we've managed to rescue your cloak from Lupin. He was going to keep it for himself." For a moment Trugin stared at Mahbism as though he was mad when he held up thin air for the teacher to take. But then when he felt the cloak, his eyes bulged in their sockets and he went very pale. "Lupin," he whispered. "Stay here after lesson. I'm taking you to the Headmaster for this."  
  
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Remus followed Trugin dejectedly along the now familiar corridor. All his protests and explanations had been ignored by the furious Professor and now Remus was going to look like a fool in front of Dumbledore for not returning the cloak immediately. Trugin flung open the big door at the top of the revolving staircase and stopped dead. Remus only just managed not to hurtle into him as he stepped off the stairs. "Headmaster! I need a private word with you immediately!" Remus peered around Trugin's bulk. Sephine Winters was standing in front of Professor Dumbledore and she looked quite ruffled. Dumbledore seemed amused. "Really, Professor? Is that why you brought Master Lupin?" Trugin just ground his teeth and glared pointedly at Sephine. She shrugged and said, "Sir I'd leave the office if you'd just move a bit to the right." The irate professor took a step to his right, and Sephine brushed past between him and Remus. She gave him a reassuring grin as she slipped down the stairs, and Remus felt a little better for it. As Trugin closed the door with a suspicious glance, Dumbledore asked, "So what is it that you need to see me about, Lucifer?" Remus restrained a snigger at Trugin's first name. "This, Headmaster!" He thrust the invisible cloak at Dumbledore, who raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?" "My cloak! He's turned it invisible, and was going to keep it!" "I don't see what use it would be to him if it was invisible." Dumbledore's gaze twinkled over Remus for a moment. "And I do know about the cloak, Lucifer, although I am intrigued about the invisibility part. If you'd kindly take your cloak - one good washing should return it to normal - and Mr. Lupin and go and enjoy your weekend. "Oh and ask Miss Winters to come in when you leave, please, Remus." 


	14. More Than a Match

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 14 - More than a match  
  
Remus woke up much earlier than he'd wanted to on Saturday morning, but once he was awake, he found it was too much effort to go back to sleep with the cold November light peeking round the hangings of his bed. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, staring blearily at the calendar he'd magically pinned to the wall above his head. Then he stopped rubbing his eyes abruptly and had to blink a couple of times to be sure he was seeing what he was seeing. "No way!" He whispered in denial, but the symbol of a full moon on Saturday 28th November didn't change. Remus' eyes flashed to the month. It definitely said November. How could I forget THAT? I've not forgotten the date in six years. Remus shivered then, as a thought struck him. Perhaps this is the effect of having friends. They take my mind off it.just a bit too much. He pushed back the heavy velvet drape and hopped across the cold stones to the trunk at the foot of his bed to retrieve his robe. The other boys were still asleep and Remus didn't feel like waking them up. He tiptoed over to the window instead and perched himself on the ledge. Remus sighed and looked across the snowy Hogwarts grounds. Hagrid the groundskeeper was trying to collect together a group of round puffskeins that kept bouncing away from him across snowdrifts, their pink tongues flicking after Hagrid's Newfoundland puppy, Bob. Looking further, Remus saw the Quidditch pitch. A group of red blurs showed him that the Gryffindors were already practising. He hoped the match wasn't going to last too long. He knew that Quidditch could last for weeks, and he didn't want to think about the effect that leaving early would have on his friends. They wouldn't believe a single excuse he could give them, he knew it. Peering down, Remus caught sight of a clump of twigs poking out from underneath the window ledge. He cringed, wondering how he'd get Sephine's broomstick back to her. Maybe if I just let it fall, a member of staff will find it on the ground and Seph'll just think it's fallen loose sometime. Remus had just closed the window and was watching the broom's long descent through the cold air when a creak and a groan alerted him to James' return to consciousness. Guiltily, he spun round. "Uhh, Remus? What time is it?" James asked groggily, stumbling out of his bed and cursing as his bare feet touched the cold stones. "Nearly half six I think. The team's already out practising." James snorted. "Half six is nothing. I've heard of Amos Diggory getting the Hufflepuff team up at four sometimes." He moved over to peer out of the window alongside Remus. "Four? That can't be any good for the players can it? I mean, if it's a long match and they've been up for hours before the start of it?" James shrugged. "I suppose I can see Amos' point. I would get up at that time everyday if doing that'd get me on the team." Remus raised his eyebrows. "You want to be on the team?" "Why not? Next year I'll have as good a chance as anyone - their current Seeker, Mundungus Fletcher, is in his last year." "I always wanted to be like Fielding Snipes." Remus said sadly. "You play?" James looked surprised. "Used to. I had an accident when I was young and it put me off it a bit," he said with a grimace, keeping his gaze firmly fixed on a point outside the window. James didn't seem to have an answer to this. He fidgeted awkwardly, then turned away from the window. Remus turned in surprise when his friend gave a war cry and leapt feet first onto the bottom of Sirius' bed, throwing aside the hangings. "Wake up, Si! The match starts in five minutes and Gryffindor have no Keeper! They need you, Si!" Sirius sat up, flailing his arms wildly. "What? Where? I'm a Gryffindor?" "Your team needs you, Si!" James shouted, flinging Sirius out of the bed. Sirius stumbled across the freezing stones, swearing. "What? What am I doing?" James grabbed a woolly sweater from the trunk at the end of Martin's bed. "Quick, put your Quidditch robes on!" Sirius had the sweater half over his head and had walked into several items of furniture before he suddenly stopped teetering and jabbering. "James?" "Yes," (snigger) "yes, Sirius?" "You ass!" Sirius shouted, hurling himself at James, the sweater still covering his face. Martin and Peter had been woken by now, and Martin glared around the room from between the red velvet drapes of his bed. "Okay. Which one of 'em woke me?" Remus shrugged and pointed to the feathery ball in the centre of the room, where James and Sirius were attempting to cause serious damage with pillows. Martin gave a yell and leapt to join in, pillows flailing in each hand. Remus looked across the room at Peter. "Breakfast?" Peter nodded. "Breakfast is good." And they edged round the other three boys and down the stairs.  
  
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"James, how did you get that feather there?" Lily asked in alarm over the table, reaching across to try and flick the feather out from behind James' glasses. "Ow, Evans, get off! You nearly poked my eye out!" Sirius snorted into his drink and orange juice spattered the table. "He nearly gave me a concussion this morning, the bloody idiot!" "What?" Lily turned on Sirius now. "After rudely awakening me." "Sirius, you so fell for that," Remus laughed quietly. Sirius scowled at him. "I did not." "Yeah, you did, Si," Peter grinned. "What did you fall for, Sirius?" Lily queried slyly. "He was running about the dorm, with Martin's jumper on his head, thinking that he was the reserve Keeper for the team and that the match was about to start." Now it was Lily's turn to laugh into her drink. "Hey, so we're all ready for this prank on Malfoy, right?" Sirius interjected pointedly. "Of course we're ready! Can't you see that we're in the mood for pranks today?" James shot an evil smirk Sirius' way.  
  
* * *  
  
"AND IT'S GRYFFINDOR 40, SLYTHERIN 70!" For once Terry Jordan didn't elaborate, as Professor McGonagall was looking sourer than ever next to him. "Lily, have you got your mirror?" Sirius turned round to face Lily, who was on the row above him. "No, Sephine's doing it." Lily said, gesturing to Sephine, who was making a big show of preening herself in the hand-held case. "You're gonna break it." Charlie said flatly. "Quite possibly." She replied, and held it up high in the air, in the same hand as a little Gryffindor flag. As she waved the flag the mirror caught the light and sent rays of light bouncing away. Across the pitch, Lucius Malfoy gave a start on his broom. He'd seen the Snitch. Mundungus Fletcher sped after Malfoy, determined not to let him get there first. "What do we do?" James hissed as the two Seekers got closer and closer. "I haven't got a clear shot at Malfoy!" Sirius shrugged. "Fletcher's an arse. It'll be funnier if we hit him too." So using the spells that allowed them to use their wands much like pipettes, Remus, Sirius, James and Peter fired on the Seekers. Most of it did actually hit Malfoy, but someone's shot also covered Fletcher's broomstick. Peter swore that it hadn't been his until he realised that they were giving him compliments, and then he grinned sheepishly and accepted that it had been his shot. In the air there was a moment of confusion, but then Mundungus looked down and even people in the lowest rows could see his eyes bulge in surprise. "What the hell's my broomstick?" He hollered whilst looking quite ridiculous as he hovered in mid-air, his hands tightly wrapped around nothingness. Malfoy stopped laughing abruptly and glanced at Snape, then at the Gryffindors. He gave a shriek of horror when he realised that he'd suffered the same fate as Snape had that morning, and he directed his stick to the ground, and out of the area. The frustrated yells of his teams' captain and the laughter of seven hundred students followed him. It wasn't until Charlie's exclamation of "Oh Jeez, Rem, how the hell did you get that," that he realised there had been some splash back of the potion. His scar was clearly visible through the invisible shoulder of his robes. Remus gave a start and tried to pull a non-invisible patch of cloak over it. "Quidditch accident." He muttered moodily. "Ouch." Sephine leaned over and peered at him. "What did you do? Fly into a tree?" "Yeah," Remus said, his moodiness slipping away at the prospect of any sort of attention from Sephine. But then he realised how. how wolfish that thought was, and he cringed away from her. "Yeah." He grunted. The last twenty minutes of the match seemed to stretch far too long as they waited for Fletcher to catch up with the Snitch on his invisible broom. He refused to come down, saying that he would catch the Snitch even if it took him three months to do it. Finally escaping the pitch at two o'clock, after a Gryffindor victory - 220 points to 130 - the entire school rushed to the dining hall for lunch. Remus ignored the odd looks he got for piling so much meat on his plate and finished as quickly as possible. He got up and looked pointedly at his watch. "Oh, look at the time! I've really got to go and see Professor Trugin about that cloak thing."  
  
* * *  
  
'Cloak thing'? He asked himself, sitting on the stairs in the Shrieking Shack and waiting for the sun to go down. God I need to think of better excuses. No, wait, who am I kidding? Better lies. He could hear the chatter of the upper school on their trip to Hogsmeade outside, tormenting him with their freedom. With a sigh he got up and went upstairs, going into one of the bedrooms and throwing himself onto an old four poster bed. Slowly, the darkness enveloped him. 


	15. End of a Term

The Wolf of Change  
  
Chapter 15 - End of a Term  
  
"Yeah!" The Gryffindors looked up as Sephine came charging through the Great Hall waving a piece of parchment.  
"Yeah?" Sirius asked as she squeezed in between him and James, oblivious to the offended glares that she was getting from the other Gryffindors.  
"Yeah," she repeated, grinning broadly. Proudly she set the shred of parchment down on the table in front of them.  
Remus looked up from the article in The Daily Prophet that announced Dumbledore's certainty that ghosts were behind last weekends' hauntings. The note on the table read:  
All students wishing to take the Hogwarts Express to London and return home for Christmas are free to do so, but must be sure to sign the notices in the house common rooms or else permission aboard will not be granted.  
Professor M. McGonagall,  
Deputy Headmistress.  
Sirius pulled a face. "No way, Seph you know my place. I'm staying right here."  
"C'mon, think of the snowball fights we'd miss!" Martin whined.  
Sephine pouted. "Well I was thinking we could maybe meet up someplace, have a bit of a party and snowball fight and whatever for Christmas, but I guess you all want to stay at school like Charlie then?"  
Lily hurriedly picked the parchment up before Sephine could snatch it away again. "Seph, I'm sure some of us would love to meet up. I'm not staying in the castle for winter for certain. Anyone else agree?" She glared pointedly around the table.  
"I'm going home." Remus said quietly.  
"Me too." Peter added.  
James shrugged and looked sideways at Sirius. "Well sorry, Si, but I promised mum and dad I'd be home and tell them all about my first term."  
"Can't you send an owl?" Sirius moaned, looking sincerely distressed.  
James shrugged awkwardly again. "You could always stay at my place without telling your mum you've left school? I mean, it's not like your folks owl you often, is it?"  
"Thanks for reminding me," he growled.  
Sephine, still sitting between them, fidgeted anxiously. "Uh, sorry about bringing this up, Si. I guess I forgot about your place. James' idea could work though."  
"Yeah, I guess."  
Remus had serious misgivings about this idea of James', but he said nothing. However, by Sirius' expression when he caught Remus' eye, he could see that his friend also wasn't too keen on the prospect.  
Surprised at Sirius' sudden regard for rules Remus wondered what he'd meant by, You know my place. Sephine seemed to have brightened up considerably though, and soon she'd left to tell Charlie that he simply had to come now. Sirius, apparently eager to move the topic of conversation on, picked up Remus' copy of The Daily Prophet. "Well lookie who was right? Ghosts it is!" He rolled up the paper and whacked James on the head with it as he stood up. "C'mon - who else is up for a last snowball fight before the final week?" Martin leapt from the bench, throwing his scarf (which he was wearing indoors) back over his shoulder. He pointed a finger dramatically towards the door. "To the snow drifts, my friends!"  
  
* * *  
  
"Do you really think we'll get away with this one?" James asked, hands on hip and surveying their snowman. Sirius patted the snow around the creation's forehead and peered closely at it. "I don't reckon it'll do him any lasting damage - served him right for walking through our fight and insulting us." Lily was still horrified. "I can't believe I did that! James how could you make me do such a thing?" "Lily you can't say that you didn't enjoy putting Petrificus Totalis on Snape. You know it's the best thing you've ever done!" She scowled and crossed her arms, her wand still held in one thick, slippery woollen glove. Remus brushed some of the snow out of his fringe, and found he had to admit that Snape did make a pretty awesome snowman. They'd even managed to keep the hooked nose when covering him. Martin's cheeky grin alerted Remus to the approach of Sephine and Charlie. "Hey Cookson! Winters! Come see what we made!" "What is it?" Charlie asked, squinting at it. Whereas, "Wow - look's just like Snape. Are we gonna lob ice balls at it?" was Sephine's question. James grinned at Sirius. They wouldn't be letting the Ravenclaws in on this little beauty. "I've got a better idea - I hear you found a pretty useful spell in Defence Against The Darks, eh, Rem'?" Remus grinned. "It's really simple - make a load of snowballs, put this spell on them and you can tell them to follow one person around all day, whilst randomly attacking them." Sirius rubbed his hands in glee. "Right, we'll get to work with the snowballs and you and Lily can do the charms." "Um, Sirius, who are we charming them to attack?" Lily asked, her round face masked by hesitance. "Snape?" Sephine queried hopefully. Sirius shrugged and looked sidelong at James again. James shrugged back. "We'll decide when we see them." Sephine rolled her eyes and nudged Charlie, "c'mon, they're not saying a thing - let's get to work on these snowballs." Once there was a considerable pile of about thirty well-compressed lumps of snow, the first-years stood back, and surveyed the bright Hogwarts grounds. Everywhere there were people having snowball fights, sledding and even skating on the frozen lake. One group of people that stood out included the wildly gesticulating Avery, the grim-looking Trurn, and the disgusted Lucius Malfoy. The older boy brushed his fringe out of his eyes, sneering at Trurn and his cronies. They then left him, and upon catching sight of the group of young Gryffindors and Ravenclaws and their snowman, the Slytherins began to approach. They halted some distance away, Trurn holding Avery back from the possible reach of snowballs. "Nice snowman, kiddies! How many spells did you have to use to get him like that?" Trurn called. James nodded to Remus and Lily, and the first of the snowballs shot towards the Slytherins. Trurn leapt aside in astonishment, but Avery lacked the intelligence for such a quick move. The snowballs began circling him, one every so often grazing a cheek with its icy surface after the first one had hit him square on the nose. Meanwhile, Trurn had found that clever dodging didn't fool these snowballs. He waved his hands futilely and grimaced as they swooped and swerved like Bludgers in a game of Quidditch. The troublemakers doubled over with laughter and ran back up to the castle, knowing the difficulty that Avery and Mahbism would have in following them. "That was a great end to the term!" Sephine gushed, leaning on the banister as they gathered at the foot of the main stairway. "Hey, Charlie, did you decide what you're doing for the holidays yet?" James asked, scratching the back of his head absent-mindedly. Charlie shrugged. "What fun would I have here all on my own? I guess I'm going to have to go home!" Sephine grinned broadly and threw herself at Charlie. "Thanks, Cookie! You know I'll make it up to you! Now let's go get our names written on the form before McGonagall takes it down," and she proceeded to race across the Entrance Hall towards the general notice board. Charlie's grin was suddenly almost as wide as hers was. "Well," he coughed, tugging his jacket down a little. "What are we waiting for?"  
  
* * *  
  
The second trip Remus had on the Hogwarts Express was not filled with the maniacal, hyper energy that the previous one was. Sirius was still apprehensive about James' plan and Lily, Peter and Martin were in a compartment with some Hufflepuffs who supported the same Quidditch team as Martin and Peter. Lily had joined them because she was getting gradually more fed up with James' crude attempts to buoy Sirius' spirits. Remus sat in awkward silence, sandwiched between the window and Charlie Cookson, who was having an especially loud game of exploding snap with Sephine. Opposite him Sirius stared out at the blurred scenery and James meticulously ordered his Chocolate Frog cards on the low table, mumbling and occasionally yawning to himself. It was deep darkness that greeted them at platform nine and three quarters, punctuated only by a single orange light that highlighted the outlines and cold breath of the parents who waited there. "Come on, Si," James said, sweeping his cards up and stuffing them in a pocket of his green robes. "Mum knows you're coming and she doesn't mind a bit, I promise!" Sirius got up and smiled a little tiredly. "Sure, James. Thanks." They walked out of the compartment then, followed by Charlie, who thought their wizarding clothes highly amusing, although seemed to have a different opinion of Sephine's. Seemingly oblivious to his favouritism, she left the compartment after him, her navy skirts swishing a little. Remus was wearing his Muggle trousers and thick woollen jumper, his dad having informed him that they'd be doing some last minute Christmas shopping in London before heading home. It all seemed so wrong that they should be so quiet before splitting up for the holidays, and he wished that they had not drained their energy at school, but kept enough to spend on the train journey. When he noticed his father's proud face light up as he waved goodbye to all his friends, Remus again wished they could have shown a little more enthusiasm, but Roland didn't seem to notice. "Remus!" he cried with joy, slinging an arm around his shoulders and taking his case from his hand. "Tell me everything, kiddo, and we'll go and have a nice warm drink in the Leaky Cauldren." 


End file.
